German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Paris, France today to consult and discuss with French President François Hollande the Greek referendum “No” result. The resounding “no” vote in Greece on Sunday presents German Chancellor with her toughest challenge since the eurozone crisis broke out five years ago. Her choice is now between yielding to Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras and sweetening the bailout terms for his country or sticking to her hard line and her own voters’ sentiment—in refusing any further concession. In a phone call last night with President Holland, they agreed though that the vote of the Greek citizens is to be respected.
The two called for an emergency summit of eurozone leaders Tuesday in Brussels, Belgium. The summit will come just 15 days after another eurozone summit called by European Union President Donald Tusk failed to seal a deal between Greece and its EU-IMF creditors. The Eurogroup will also hold a meeting on Tuesday before the summit to discuss the “state of the game” while deputy finance ministers from the eurozone will meet on Monday.
President Cristina Fernandez of Argentina which suffered a similar crisis more than a decade ago, has boldly welcomed the referendum result. Known for combatively defending her unorthodox policies, said that Greece’s vote marked a resounding victory for democracy and dignity. There are stark similarities between Argentina’s 2002 financial meltdown and the turmoil in Greece: rigid monetary regimes, creditors battling domestic politics to fix the problem and banking systems at breaking point. In Greece, 61 percent of voters rejected a deal that would have imposed more austerity on their already ravaged economy. Ms. Fernandez commented that the Greek people have said ‘No’ to the impossible and humiliating conditions that would be imposed for the restructuring of their debt. She further said, “We Argentines know what this is about. We hope that Europe and its leaders understand the message – that you can’t force anyone to sign their own death warrant.” Children with half parent (Greek-Belgian, Greek-German, Greek French, Greek-Spanish) chose to temporarily move to other parent’s countries for a better future. They want to secure their education and later find a stable job.
