Greek membership of the EU and the Eurozone Prof. Constantine A. Stephanou Jean Monnet Chair Section of International and European Institutions Panteion University Director of ECEFIL

1. Preparation for EU membership  The first Association Agreement concluded by the European Community (1961/62)  The freezing of the Agreement during the Greek dictatorship ( )  The impact of the customs union

2. Adjusting to EU membership  The accession agreement (1979/81)  The impact of full economic integration: The balance of payments crisis of 1985  Requests for special treatment  Requests for additional funding

3. Preparing for Eurozone membership ( )  Compliance with the Maastricht Treaty criteria: levels of public deficit, debt, basic interest rate, inflation, exchange rate stability  Greek GDP growth: based on the enhancement of consumption rather than investment

4. Adjusting to Eurozone membership  Accession to the currency union: A problematic exchange rate  An irresponsible fiscal policy

5. The sovereign-debt crisis (2010-) 5.1 What is sovereign debt? 5.2 The exclusion of Greece from the financial markets and the no-bailout provisions of the Treaty (TFUE) 5.3 Financial assistance: IMF, Eurozone members and Eurozone Stability Mechanisms 5.4 The restructuring of Greek sovereign-debt. Was the restructuring voluntary? 5.5 Economic and fiscal adjustment 

5. The sovereign-debt crisis (2010-) (cont.) 5.5. Economic and fiscal adjustment A painful process involving “domestic” devaluation The first achievements:  A balanced budget (primary surplus)  An external balance (deep cut of imports resulting from reduced demand) The issue of debt sustainability: reducing interest rates and extending debt maturities