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Eurozone membership is "irrevocable", the European Commission said today (5 December), after media reports about Greece leaving the single currency that triggered strong reactions in Athens. EurActiv Greece reports. Der Spiegel reported this weekend that Berlin considers "Grexit" almost unavoidable if the left-wing Syriza opposition party, which steadily leads all opinion polls, wins Greece's parliamentary elections on 25 January. Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt, told reporters today that, according to the EU treaty law, "euro membership is irrevocable".
Eurozone membership is "irrevocable", the European Commission said today (5 December), after media reports about Greece leaving the single currency that triggered strong reactions in Athens. EurActiv Greece reports.
Der Spiegel reported this weekend that Berlin considers "Grexit" almost unavoidable if the left-wing Syriza opposition party, which steadily leads all opinion polls, wins Greece's parliamentary elections on 25 January.
Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt, told reporters today that, according to the EU treaty law, "euro membership is irrevocable".
Also, while a nation can withdraw, the EU treaties make no provision for the expulsion of a member nation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_from_the_European_Union - since I'm not on my own machine right now I can't quote using Tribext.)
A Grexit ain't gonna happen. At least not within a timeframe that has any immediate relevance. The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
Greece could state that they accept Drachmas, which they would use to pay salaries, and not contravene to the obligation of using the euro. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/legal_tender/index_en.htm
Within the euro area, only the euro has the status of legal tender. This results from the fact that the money used in a monetary system does only have the status of legal tender if it is provided for under the respective monetary law.
Theoretically, I suppose, Greece could issue some kind of scrip à la Wöhrl:
Yet, contractual parties are free to agree to use in transactions other official foreign currencies with legal tender status in the state of issuance, e.g. the Pound Sterling or the US Dollar. The same applies to privately issued money like local exchange trading systems (e.g. voucher-based payment systems in certain communities) or virtual currency schemes (e.g. Bitcoin). Although these are not official currencies and have no legal tender status, parties can agree to use them as private money and without prejudice to the official currency (euro or national currency) being the sole legal tender.
However, it would seem to me that it would be difficult to decouple the value of the scrip from the euro. The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
it would seem to me that it would be difficult to decouple the value of the scrip from the euro.
In principle, maintaining a dual currency system is a major inconvenience. In practice, Gresham's Postulate will usually suffice to keep the hard currency out of general circulation. And even if it does not, operating a dual currency system is a considerably smaller inconvenience than regular major industrial depressions, which is the result of the current mismanagement of the eurosystem.
- Jake Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.
A country that fails its obligations can be sued in Court by the Commission and get to pay a fine. Happens all the time and have never resulted in country leaving the EU or being expulsed. Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se
So if Greece starts using something else, Greece fails its obligations.
After the Troika (which includes the commission and the ECB) failed on their promises for restructuring the debt.
After the ECB, the Commission and the Eurogroup totally ignored that the social protocol talked about social protection and not about destroying it.
After the ECB used a 3% deficit rule that the Italian minister at the time claims were non-binding to bludgeon member states with trade deficits into giving up powers that never belonged to the Troika.
All in all, there are a number of vioaltions and if Greece defends itself with vigor a case before the Court can be interesting. Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se
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