Greece has arguably been hit harder by the EU’s multiple crises over the last 15 years than any other member state. Yet as Stella Ladi explains, the country has remained committed to European integration. She argues that as Donald Trump’s presidency ushers the EU’s permacrisis into a new phase, Greece should sustain its role as a central player in the EU.
In the last 15 years, Greece has been at the heart of several global and regional crises that shaped its relationship with the EU. Starting with the Eurozone crisis, and through the migration crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, Greece has gradually reinstated its position as a country that is willing and able to shape and strengthen common EU responses to emerging crises.
The turbulence in transatlantic relations during the second Trump administration highlights that the era of permacrisis is not over and crises, from security to trade, are likely to continue. As such, Greece needs to navigate this new phase by insisting on its strategic and values-based choice to remain at the core of the EU, defend western values (after all most of them stem from Greek civilisation) and help shape a common EU response to these new challenges.
This is not only relevant for Greece but also for other EU member states that wish to see the EU consolidate its geopolitical and regulatory power globally, rather than pursue asymmetrical bilateral agreements with the US.
The Eurozone crisis
The most traumatic experience in the relationship between Greece and the EU was the 2008 international financial crisis. As the country was on the brink of default, it sought financial assistance from the EU. What followed was a turbulent ten-year period mired by three Economic Adjustment Programmes. Consequently, no less than four different governments were called to implement a total of 123, occasionally controversial, reforms.
As expected, the Greek-EU relationship went through ups and downs during this decade. There were high points such as when Greece was passing the periodical reviews of the Troika and tranches of the loans were released and there were low points such as the 2015 referendum that almost led the country out of the Eurozone.
There was also a happy ending when Greece exited the Third Economic Adjustment Programme in 2018, and the country managed to revive and stabilise politically and economically. Nevertheless, the period of the Eurozone crisis was the first time since Greece joined the European Communities that Euroscepticism rose. However, it was a soft Euroscepticism since citizens were rejecting the EU’s economic policies of austerity but not the country’s EU membership.
The migration crisis
In 2015, Greece became the epicentre of a migration crisis that affected the EU and was perceived as a European crisis. More than one million refugees arrived at the EU’s borders – 860,000 of them in Greece – bringing to the fore issues such as responsibility sharing, solidarity and the viability of the Common European Asylum System.
This influx coincided with one of the most acute phases of the Eurozone crisis when Grexit was a real possibility. There was a common feeling in the country that the main responsibility for tackling the immigration crisis lay with the EU since Greece had no means to manage such numbers by itself, while most refugees did not want to stay in the country.
Yet, while the 2015 immigration crisis certainly fed rising Euroscepticism, it was not enough to foster hard Euroscepticism. By 2016 an agreement on relocation was achieved, financial assistance for the management of the crisis had arrived and the EU-Turkey Statement of March 2016 eased the problem, although the morality of the agreement was still questioned in the EU and Greece.
The COVID-19 pandemic
Before too long and just a year after Greece exited its Third Economic Adjustment Programme, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted and was immediately seen as a crisis that had to be dealt with at the European level. EU assistance started flowing to the member states, including funds for the purchase of protective equipment, the establishment of green lanes for essential workers and patients so that they could cross borders easily, and the SURE programme that aimed to mitigate unemployment risks.
However, the game changer occurred in 2020 with the creation of the €750 billion Next Generation EU (NGEU) plan to combat the economic effects of the pandemic, with most of the funds being directed to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). A total of €30.5 billion was directed to Greece.
In turn, the country adopted its National Recovery and Resilience Plan in 2021, with the European Commission praising it for its substance and quick delivery. It was at this point that the relationship between Greece and the EU started to mend, demonstrating domestically and to fellow member states that Euroscepticism is not the only game in town, even for a country that was so severely hit by crisis.
The Russia-Ukraine war
The next crisis for the EU occurred in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. The EU’s response was much quicker and more effective than during the 2014 invasion of Crimea. The EU managed to agree on sizeable and unprecedented sanctions against Russia in just a couple of weeks. To complement this, the EU committed financial aid and initiated accession negotiations with Ukraine.
Greece quickly aligned with the core of the EU and took a stand for a decisive response to Russia’s aggression, despite its traditional ties with Russia. This was in line with its foreign policy preferences for collective solidarity and the respect of international law in view of its own security challenges with neighbouring Turkey.
The war in Ukraine provided an opportunity for Greece to further consolidate its position in the Euro-Atlantic community and strengthen its credibility. It provided military support to Ukraine and showcased its geopolitical importance by providing the port of Alexandroupolis as a transit for American military equipment to Eastern Europe and Ukraine. Additionally, the port developed into a centre for Liquefied Natural Gas, boosting Greece’s importance for the EU’s energy security strategy.
Trump 2.0
The first months of the second Trump administration have given a clear signal to the EU and Greece that the next four years are going to be unpredictable. During these first few months, Greece has made a clear choice to stand behind all EU initiatives in response to the tariffs announced by the Trump administration and the potential US withdrawal from Ukraine.
It also needs to stay at the core of the ReArm Europe plan with the same enthusiasm that it showed in the EU’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2022. Such a principled and unwavering stance will further consolidate its geopolitical position within Europe and beyond. While the relationship with the US remains central and will hopefully not be too strained in the next four years, the EU remains Greece’s geopolitical and socio-economic home.
Note: This article gives the views of the author, not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy or the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: European Union