Should Germany pay Greece reparations for World War II?

[ingemann]

I voted no, but only because the option maybe didn't exist. Greece may have a realistic claim, the problem is that this claim come at this point in time. Greece have had two decades since the reunification (which they claim is then German should pay it debt). Greece have completely ignored it until it was discovered that they had delivered false budgets for years to EU. Suddenly Germany now owed Greece money.

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

[ingemann]

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

Does not follow.

Well I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that your suggestion will result in German tax money being transfered to French bankers.

[ingemann]

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

Does not follow.

Well I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that your suggestion will result in German tax money being transfered to French bankers.

I don't get it. Why should writing off the debt owed by Greece toward French banks be a good thing for said French banks and a bad thing for Germany?

Because Germany don't owe most of the Greek debt, they're only the third largest Greek creditor (after France and UK). So what you really suggest is Germany taking over the Greek debt.

I don't serious think you knew this. But I think you should think about it, everytime a French media suggest that the Germans should cover the Greek debt. What they really say are; "save our banks".

BTW I found a nice BBC graph from 2012

[ingemann]

Ha! Here I was thinking I was informed and I had no idea this was the case.

Don't blame yourself, English language media is in general very unimformed about EU and the Euro, and this didn't fit in the narrative from either for austerity or against austerity. But already from the start the fear was the collapse of French and Italian banks, when Greece declared bankrupcy, and this would spread in a wave around Europe and the world. It's also why Greece don't have muchto threaten with any more, as German, other Euro and EU governments have taken over much of the debt (and they won't collapse).

[ingemann]

You can't have a currency union without transfers to the poorer parts of the union– it's baked into the very definition of the thing.  And, as Madeleine said, austerity just doesn't work, even on its own terms.

So, yes, "Germany" needs to give Greece money.  There's no other way forward out of this mess.

But framing it as "reparations for WWII" is whackadoo and needlessly inflammatory. No, Germany shouldn't give Greece money for that.

Of course now that you tell us that transfer is necessary it's lucky that they're already happening. 1,3% of the Greek GDP is direct transfer from other EU countries. In fact until a few years Greece was trhe country which was the biggest net receiver from EU, through today Poland and Spain are the two biggest net receivers. Through if we go after per capita they're only the fouth greatest net receiver after Luxembourg (because of the EU institutions placed there), Lithuania and Estonia.

[ingemann]

BTW the legitimate claim Greece may or may not have is on 11 (American) billion Euro (DR orientering 20/3 2015) with interest. The Greek debt on the other hand is 346,8 billion Euro, their annual payment of interest is 2,6% of the GDP (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11372369/Three-myths-about-Greeces-enormous-debt-mountain.html), so around 4,5-5 billion Euro annual. This mean that even if Germany give Greece reparation, for the one thing where Greece may have a claim, it will cover two to two and half year payment of interests.

[ingemann]

If Greece agrees to become a German protectorate, with the entire executive power in the hands of a Bundestag-appointed governor for the next 99 years, this may be considered

I really doubt anyone in Berlin want the headache of running Greece, they are still dealing with bringing East Germany up to modern standards.