What does the future hold for Greece?

Greece

As ever, matters of global financial concern are of great importance amongst expatriates, and currently Greece again finds itself in an unforgiving spotlight. So, what does the future hold for Greece?

Even though Greece has been experiencing severe economic unrest for a number of years now, politicians, economists, and European citizens are still in unison with hopes that Greece will not gain the ominous accolade of becoming the first country to go bankrupt in 60 years.

Sadly, it appears that this eventuality is becoming increasingly likely, especially as discussions between the Greek government and its creditors continue to stall.

As things stand, an agreement must be reached by March 20, which is when the nation is scheduled receive yet another bailout from the IMF, hopefully giving Greece the funds it needs to pay off its creditors.

The bulk of Greece’s sovereign debt is held by European banks, who could crumble if Greece defaults in a disorderly manner. The terms orderly and disorderly seem to mean whether the default has been agreed, or notified and consulted on, in advance.


This is where the talks are stalling. Greece is believed to be attempting to thrash out a restructuring deal that that would see its debt reduced by an incredible 100 billion euros. However, its creditors have already allowed cuts – some by around 50 percent. Now, the Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has intimated that, unless a deal can be agreed imminently, the default will be the gloomiest outcome for all concerned.

Reaching such a deal is vital for two reasons- of course preventing default on March 20: but also because doing so show that Greece is beginning to get its house in order once again, thus allowing it to be eligible for more hand outs.

Of course, the austerity measures have created severe public unrest, and Greek citizens have protested with force as they feel let down by their own, and other European, governments. Creditors have too grown weary of the saga, as debts are being constantly being restructured, and the threat of not receiving all their money back looms.

So, to answer the original question- what does the future hold for Greece? Uncertainty.