Greek crisis wake-up call for eurozone
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If other eurozone countries had detected the problems earlier and had tackled it preemptively, they could have stood a good chance to avert the current mess. Their initial reactions in the aftermath of the crisis was also disappointing.
Now, after months-long negotiations and quarrels among eurozone members, the aid package was finally activated. The prolonged process and the absence of an effective mechanism to manage crisis in the eurozone made many investors wonder if Greece could get enough aid and avert debt default.
Germany, powerhouse of the eurozone, had been reluctant to help due to strong domestic opposition. Here "solidarity" is only a word better say than done.
The irony is that the crisis was happening at a time when the Lisbon Treaty began to take effect, which, in the words of EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, "marks a watershed in the history of European integration."
In fact, eurozone countries are now paying a price for the lack of unity and slow response to the crisis, for if they had acted upon the crisis earlier, the amount of aid to Greece could have been much smaller.
Nevertheless, the eurozone countries have finally realized their problem.
When eurozone finance ministers activated the rescue package, they also announced that eurozone leaders would meet later in the week on improving economic governance.
The leaders were expected to call for vigilant surveillance of national economies, more coordination on economic policies and tougher enforcement of fiscal discipline, which could help to usher in a new era for eurozone.
In that sense, the Greek crisis could serve as a wake-up call for all eurozone countries.
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