Blimey... another headache for Angela Merkel!

I'm keeping an open mind.  I did read that Germany has had to pay reparations to many countries but that did not include Greece.

There but for the grace of Bog......

Greece has had a long history of paying for a large bureaucracy, but not collecting appropriate taxes.

Blaming the Germans is disingenious.

How long have the Greeks been asking for these reparations, though?

From this - Following the war Greece claimed it was owed £7 billion for compensation and damage caused within the country but received just a small fraction of that amount - I'd guess that this has been ongoing since then.

Greece has admitted it joined the euro in 2001 on the basis of figures that showed its budget deficit to be much lower than it really was.

Eurozone states are expected to have deficits below 3% of gross domestic product but revised data show Greece has exceeded that limit since 1999.

Italy has agreed it owes around 30% of the Euro debt - more than anyone else.

But i'm sure the measures will be aligned to each countires ability to "work their way out" of their own crisis.

It seems Greece needs us much more than other countries do and aint in much of a debating/demanding position.

To then drag the war up is frankly bloody rude.

It depends who you believe, Joe, but it's not quite as simple as that and certainly not the fault of the whole Greek population. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/glob...e-north-south-divide

They set the guidelines for fiscal criteria.  They should have been strictly enforced.  As far as I can see, with their record on taxation, Greece should never have been allowed to sign up.

Article published in the German newspaper Die Welt a year ago on the issue of German reparations to Greece. It's been translated into English and is on two pages.

http://www.time.com/time/world...8599,2093990,00.html

The Convergence Criteria was never really a concrete set of economic determinants (even though economics can be as creative as lots of other dark arts). It was always more about a political ideal, and they can be just as volatile and prone to human failure and greed. The Eurozone big noises had access to the official Greek accounts, and the genuine ones too. The fact that the paper trail of accountability was spurious from individuals to officialdom should have set alarm bells to the auditors. It was always going to be a feather in the cap to get the spiritual home of political thought and enquiry, and many say, civilisation in to the Euro fold.

I think this example here is more than just biting the hand that feeds you, the Greeks may have a valid case.

very john cleese

I believe Germany has to pay it's war debts, but there is an argument to be made about what happens if Germany goes bankrupt. Nobody wins.

PS. Just to be a little bit facetious. maybe the Elgin Marbles should be returned.

Greece needed to pay its taxes and the consequences of not paying its taxes has been dumped on those least able to afford it (hmm... sound familiar ????).

Greece has every right to air its historical grievances with Germany, as long as they are legitimate and not being used gratuitously to stoke up anti Germany feeling and deflect from Greek politicians' culpability in Greece's problems.

If I recall correctly, France and Germany were the first nations not to fall short of the criteria, so then felt obliged to totally fudge the criteria.

Just an aside

Call me naive by all means but isn't it odd that the countries that have been in debt to the rest of the world for decades (most of the West) - centuries in our case - are the ones that are judged by the global banking system as most financially stable and trustworthy?

Just an aside!

I haven't got a single clue.....but, on balance, I'll go with suzy bean 'cos she appears to know what she's on about