[avatar]
The EU needs to stick to its guns on Greece, show leadership and if Greece won’t bend, forget them and move on. What it should move on to is making sure the three largest economies of Europe are truly integrated and growing. With this achieved the rest will fall into place.
The Greek finance minister, Yanis (write it without the capital Y and Apple changes it into ha ha, which may say something profound) Varoufakis, wants Greece to be treated "like equals and not as a debt colony". Sorry mate, Greece is not an equal and isn't really even the problem.
The leaders of the EU would do well to let Greece go it's own way. There'd be some pain, some British and German banks would have to make provision against some debts, if they've any sense that's a provision they've already made. The € may decline a little against the US$, that'll help German and French exports. If the € declines against the £ that'll hurt UK exports to the EU, but it's not certain that the € will decline against £, maybe too much of our trade is tied to the EU for that to happen.
With the three powerhouse economies of Europe United and growing strongly the EU will be massively stronger. That's a huge benefit to all European Citizens. To have a chance of achieving that the EU needs to show leadership, show that it means business, face the Greeks down and address the substantive issues.
As is well known the EU was born out of the bloody conflicts of the twentieth century. Crudely to integrate the continent, excluding Russia, so that war between Britain, and particularly France and Germany, became unthinkable. Britain has always stood to one side, foolishly wanting the best from the EU, without making the commitment of being a full member. A demonstrably strong EU should be more attractive to Britain and encourage us to engage fully.
Any Greek exit is only likely to be temporary. They'll be back within a few years, maybe even a few months. And there’s a lot more at stake than Greece.
