National sovereignty ” “and common interests

When at the beginning of July the crisis reached its peak it became clear that Greece would not longer be a sovereign State. Whether the Greek government or the Greek people wanted it or not, they had no other option that to accept the fact they had once again been rescued from the abyss by its European monetary union partners. Greece reluctantly had to accept the recovery and reform of its economic and social systems with the adoption of measures it had previously firmly rejected, in exchange for consistent loans to finance the national budget. However, also the other 18 member countries of the monetary union, or Eurozone, have lost their sovereignty. The loss of sovereignty didn’t occur only with the crisis. It’s a founding element of monetary union membership, enshrined in the treaties which member Countries freely decided to join. The treaties lay down binding regulations, whose respect is critical to EU performance. This, along with the loss of sovereignty linked to the single currency, is the reason for the fierce opposition of left wing and right-wing nationalisms up in arms against the euro in all Member countries. To them, nation-State sovereignty is still the sacred cow. They don’t want to admit, nor accept, that in the framework of globalization nation-states can grow and fulfil their duties only if they share their sovereignty with their neighbours. For European countries, to be “sovereign” is equally important as to be able to count on one another. Leftwing and right-wing nationalists had consecrated as their hero Alexis Tsipras, the young, charismatic Greek prime minister who had enjoyed spectacular electoral victory in the month of January, and they had hoped that he would shape not only Greece, but also the whole of Europe, according to their intentions. This new Europe had to be freed from bonds deriving from monetary interventions. The “austerity measures” taken regarding the sovereign debt crisis should have been replaced – according to this logic – by a form of politics that would finally respond to the needs of the people and not to the interest of the banks. However, Tsipras failed to meet such expectations when he was forced to face reality at the European Council of July 12. Nonetheless, his supporters were not angered, since for ideologists, putting the blame of personal failure on others is always the simplest thing to do – again, the blame was put on German chancellor and her finance minister who in agreement with the majority of their European colleagues insisted that Greece had to provide its personal contribution to obtain the much expected and indispensable financial support. The debate on the best way to save Greece as a eurozone country is centred on the concepts of “austerity” and “growth”. While austerity policies are denigrated by friends and supporters of the Greek prime minister, as if they were the work of the devil, they see in growth policies a panacea, based on the assumption that growth stems mainly from money-spending. But over the past years billions of euros were not only spent in Greece, they were actually squandered, and rather than leading to growth, this led to disaster. Sustainable growth – the only item of debate, if aimed at the improvement of the economic, social situation of a country – requires solid foundations. In the cases where – as today in Greece – these bases are lacking, just like appropriate administrative structures, with high indebtedness coupled by inconsiderate expenses, it is necessary, first of all, to create the conditions for growth. This can be done only through a period of austerity and rigour in public accounts. It responds to common sense and to the recent experiences in Spain, Portugal, Ireland and in some countries of central and eastern Europe. These experiences are worth more than the predictions of certain economists and of US Nobel prize-winners in love with their theories, who seem to ignore the situation and the reality of European integration policies. Today nobody knows whether in the end the effort will be worth the while, or if Greece can actually be saved in a few years as a reformed and reorganized member of the monetary union. This is a task that requires solidarity interventions of Eurozone countries coupled by responsible reforms in Athens. But it’s not only Greece. It will be essential for the future of the monetary union that European bodies and governments manage to solve their inborn defects, replacing the duly respected regulations with a federal institute that encompasses national sovereignty within a European sovereignty lost by member Countries, and in the name of the Community take the necessary decisions for the good of Europe and of its citizens.