The former US president has pointed to the bloc’s “unresolved contradictions” in his memoir The Promised Land, the Daily Express notes
Former US President Barack Obama has been accused of “humiliating” the European Union by “harshly” summarising the bloc’s “unresolved contradictions” in his memoir “Promised Land”. The Daily Express wrote about it on Saturday.
In the book, Obama stressed that the Greek debt crisis, which occurred after the 2008 financial crash, “exposed the unresolved contradictions underlying Europe’s decades-long drive towards deeper integration.”
Greece’s situation, according to the publication, was exacerbated by the fact that Greek politicians had no way out, as eurozone membership deprived the country of monetary policy flexibility.
Greece requested financial assistance in 2010, 2012 and 2015 from the IMF, the Eurogroup and the European Central Bank.
“Merkel and Sarkozy were required to convince voters of the advisability of saving foreigners from bankruptcy”, – the former president added. In the memoir, Obama hints that the unintended consequences in France and Germany over the Greek bailout were serious.
The article stresses that confidence in the Eurozone has been eroded and “the scars are visible even today”, not least because of disputes among EU member states over the size of the EU economic recovery fund after the coronavirus pandemic.