Germany Must Assume Responsibility Towards Greece

A new restructuring of the Greek debt, an open debate on Germany’s responsibility towards the people of the European Union since World War II and the country’s straightforward participation in Greece’s recovery were Chatzimarkakis’s suggestions at the event on war reparations and the “war loan” which Greece was forced to grant to the German Reich.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis is a German politician of Greek descent, Member of the European Parliament with the Free Democratic Party of Germany (part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe). The event that took place in Berlin was organized in common with Annette Groth, German politician,  member of the Left party and President of Germany’s Federal Parliament Committee for Greek-German Cooperation.

Chatzimarkakis’ discussion focused on war reparations and the war loan as an “open wound” for both countries and stressed that this wound has to be healed while he underlined that “Germany has to assume its historic responsibility.”

Among his suggestions was that Berlin has to accept its responsibility for the damage it caused to the people of Europe. In order to recognize with actions the harm it caused and to restore the dignity of Greeks, the country should accept a new restructuring of the Greek debt at a level equal to the “haircut” of the German debt to Greece after the war. That will be the explicit participation of Germany in Greece’s recovery, through the money of the war loan.

Chatzimarkakis added that the establishment of a Solidarity Fund under the auspices of the EU could immensely help unemployed young people in Greece. “The unemployed youth that is tested in Greece is part of Europe’s future and Germany cannot shirk its responsibility toward the European young people,” he said.