The real bet for the future of Greece depends on what happens on Monday

The very people responsible for the Greek tragedy are coming back crawling out of the woodwork, trying to take advantage of the situation to exonerate and rebrand themselves.

People who should have been in prison (or at least hiding in their holes) are staging their comeback, pretending to be advocates for the European integration.

We won’t let them.

At the end of World War Two, Nazi collaborators were held accountable for their crimes and expelled from public offices all over Europe. 

With the exception of Greece, that is, where they merely changed sides, aligning themselves with the Allies. The Greek people, who fell for that scheme (along with the unfortunate intervention of the USSR), had to endure a civil war followed by decades of poverty and subordination.

This history is about to be repeated.

The stupid reactionary verbalism and the amateurish governing style of SYRIZA assisted in the revival of the disastrous “triangle of power”, that of the criminal economic oligarchy, the mass media outlets that it owns, and the Greek politicians that serve as its lackeys.

 

Members of this “triangle” understand that, whether with the drachma or the euro, Greece will continue to require further economic assistance. 

They also know that among the few entities able to offer their “support”, the E.U. will remain be the more realistic and viable option (obviously no one will accept the help of mafia czars or of the sponsors of jihadists). 

That’s why they try to re-invent themselves as the “European connection”. 

We won’t let it happen.

The ruling powers in E.U. (that is, the ones insisting on the failed model ofintergovernmentalism, where a few powerful countries take all the decisions and smaller countries are forced to comply), are eagerly waiting to use any Greek government misstep to their advantage — and the same holds for the local powers of decay.

Let them hear this loud and clear:

A vote of YES is a vote for the European Federation, a vote for a “united states” of Europe, so to speak — and not a vote to their criminal plans for the subjugation of smaller European countries.

In the same vein, a vote of NO is a loud “no” to the failed paradigm of intergovernmentalism — a heroic cry against the rule of power and the law of the jungle.

As for abstention or black and invalid ballot papers, those represent nothing more that a de facto delegitimisation of a meaningless referendum. 

Greeks shall remain united.

Whatever we do on Monday, even in it leads to a  haircut on deposits or other extreme but necessary measures, we’ll need further assistance from abroad. 

Our local criminal oligarchic establishment understands this all too well, and no longer even pretends to keep up appearances.

WE SAY NO TO THE BOGUS REFERENDUM

Whatever one choses to vote, YES, NO, absence, invalid or blank ballot, we are not forgetting those who destroyed Greece from 1974 onwards.They are guilty and they will be punished for what they did. We want the truth, and we won’t allow their crimes to be forgotten.

Reconciliation presupposes justice.

Greece is facing an unprecedented cul-de-sac. The best thing that can happen with regard to the referendum, is for it to be postponed. But even if it goes through as planned, its result won’t matter one iota. Neither Greece can exist outside of Europe nor Europe can continue on the dead end path of intergovernmentalism. 

All this makes the actual result of the referendum irrelevant. Whatever one votes, what’s important is what will happen on Monday.

The establishment of a negotiating team accepted by all parties to do the right thing for Greece and Europe has become an absolute necessity.

This message is a cry of despair and a shout of determination.

We’ll march forward united with no fear for Greece and Europe.

Η συμμετοχή μου στο 40 under 40 της Αθήνας, Ιούνιος 2013

Το πρόγραμμα "Νέοι Ευρωπαίοι Ηγέτες κάτω των 40 ετών - 40 under 40" υλοποιείται από τους μη κυβερνητικούς οργανισμούς Friends of Europe και EuropaNova με την υποστήριξη της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής. Με μεγάλη χαρά έμαθα πως είχα επιλεγεί μεταξύ των 40 νέων ηγετών της περιόδου 2012 - 2013 και πήρα μέρος στο τριήμερο συνέδριο που έγινε στο Βερολίνο, από 6 έως 9 Δεκεμβρίου 2012.

Η επόμενη συνάντηση της ομάδας είχε προγραμματιστεί να γίνει στην Αθήνα, 13 έως 15 Ιουνίου, όπου και πράγματι έγινε με μεγάλη επιτυχία. Ανταλλάξαμε απόψεις με νέους από όλη την Ευρώπη προερχόμενους από τους χώρους των επιχειρήσεων, της τέχνης και της πολιτικής. Έφυγα από τη συνάντηση εκείνη πολύ πιο αισιόδοξος από όσο ήμουν πριν ξεκινήσει. Θυμάμαι πως ακριβώς το ίδιο είχα νιώσει και στο Βερολίνο. Τελικά, είναι αλήθεια, η νέα γενιά των Ευρωπαίων είναι πολύ πιο προωθημένη από όσο το κατεστημένο θέλει να νομίζει.

Παρακάτω αντιγράφω μερικές από τις θέσεις που είχα την ευκαιρία να εκφράσω, όπως περιγράφονται στην εξαιρετικής ποιότητας αναφορά 84 σελίδων που ετοίμασαν οι οργανωτές και είναι διαθέσιμη εδώ.

Παρά τις προκλήσεις που αντιμετωπίζουμε σε πολλές περιοχές της, η΄σημερινή Ευρώπη παραμένει η καλύτερη κοινωνία που έχει επιτευχθεί στη σύγχρονη εποχή - Ίσως και σε όλη την ανθρώπινη ιστορία. Οφείλουμε να είμαστε πολύ περήφανοι για αυτό! Ας είναι σαφές όμως προς όλους ότι βρισκόμαστε σε ένα κρίσιμο σταυροδρόμι, σε ώρα μεγάλων αποφάσεων. Είτε η γενιά μας, η γενιά του δέκα, θα ολοκληρώσει αυτό που ξεκίνησαν οι προκάτοχοί μας και θα πάμε στην ομοσπονδιοποίηση της Ευρώπης, δημιουργώντας τη νέα μεγάλη μας χώρα, ή δυστυχώς το πείραμα αυτό κινδυνεύει να αποτύχει.

Ελπίζω πως η γενιά του δέκα θα βρει το θάρος να προχωρήσει μπροστά!

Tα αποσπάσματα με τις τοποθετήσεις μου στο συνέδριο:

“I am disappointed that politicians are not telling the truth to their constituents: that the only way to compete and survive economically is with more union.”

It is not only recent governments that have failed the Greek people, Tsigos underlined, but all governments since democracy was restored in the country in 1974. “If we do not have a fundamental political change in Greece from the bottom up, nothing will change. The good news is that the ‘triangle of failure’ – Greece’s economic oligarchy, the media and politicians – are collapsing. It is up to the Greek people to get serious about politics and EU ideals.”

“We need to change our dysfunctional education system in Europe,” stressed Tsigos. “We have to create a system to inspire innovation, creativity and autonomy beginning at a young age.”Youth unemployment is a symptom of a sick economy, noted Tsigos. “The new definition of wishful thinking is the idea that EU member states will not have high youth unemployment. Unless we make changes now, even those member states that have remained relatively unscathed, such as Germany or Austria, will eventually catch the youth unemployment bug,” he said.

Rethinking entrepreneurial culture in Europe is an important step, noted Tsigos. As it stands now, Europe is far too risk-averse, both structurally and culturally. In terms of policy, it behoves the EU to deal with Europe’s risk-averse legislation, for example strict bankruptcy laws that do not support those entrepreneurs that are willing to take risks. “In our society, people are not used to trying,” he said. “How can they, if they expect to be ruined if they fail?”

Finally, concluded Tsigos, policymakers should strive to make the single market more effective for entrepreneurs and SMEs. “As the largest economy in the world,” he concluded, “we deserve an authentic growth model, based on our regional development models.”

Report 40 under 40 EYL Athens from Dimitris G.E. Tsigos

European Federal Republic: The time has come!

Over the last years when the European Union has been facing the challenges imposed by the so-called "global financial crisis", it has been made clearer than ever before that something must change in the EU. I could say that it is more obvious than not that there is an extreme necessity to get Europe truly united.

The 20th century has been a very bad one for Europe. A century of wars, genocides, tragedies and distractions. The European Union that we know today has been the previous generation's response to the unprecedented catastrophe caused by the two World Wars which practically started in Europe. The mission of the previous generations has been accomplished and Europe has lived almost seven decades of peace and prosperity.

Recently though, the financial crisis has initiated a process of questioning the European peace miracle. Vast segments of the middle class in European States, especially at the South, enter into poverty creating an ideal ground for the rise of nationalism. A massive return of nationalism would definitely led to the dissolution of the European Union and rather sooner than later to the Third World War. The consequences of this are too severe to let them come to reality.The rise of the neo-nazi movement in Greece, a country which lost almost 10% of its population to help the free people defeating the Nazis, serves as the ultimate example of how wrong things can go if a wrong political and economic model is followed for long time.

The current EU model is based on the concept of intergovernmentalism. Today, in 2013, we Europeans can keep pretending that this so much 20th century intergovernmentalism approach works. The ugly truth however is that it doesn't work at all. A new approach is needed.

We all know it, Europe is old (that actually is one of the few wise words ever said by Donald Rumsfeld). Europe does behaves like an old person. Slow moving and uber-conservative. Young Europeans have completely different dreams for their lives. No, we do not aim to becoming citizens of a huge open-air museum. We envision Europe as a great, united country, as a super-power of justice, equality, democracy and culture. A dominant factor of fairness and stability in the international affairs. A growing economy with financial and ecological sustainability.

This dream, might not be that far away from reality given that young Europeans stand up and talk with loud and clear voice. On the contrary, it is absolutely feasible. Europe does have the financial, human and symbolic capital necessary to make that dream come true. It only lacks the required political will. Actually, those who lack that will are the national governments, more or less frightened in sight of sharing some parts of their authorities and responsibilities and managing them via a supranational, federal structure. The reality is however that the vast majority of Europeans not only is ready to accept this federal approach but rather is about to demand it!

The question to be asked to the youth of Europe is very simple: "Don't you thing that it is about time to turn Europe young again? Don't you think that it is about time to start the process of creating the European Federal Republic?". As far as I am concerned, I do think it is about time to do so and I'll put all of my energy and resources to make this dream come true, remaining confident that thousands of other young Europeans will also do the same.

Uniting Europe is the major challenge of our generation and I'm absolutely confident that we shall positively respond to it. At the end of the day, it is all about making a life worth living. 

Saving Europe's Lost Generation with Creativity and Vision

Originally published on www.friendsofeurope.org 

Europe is in trouble. Everybody says so, newspapers shout out headlines on the “Eurozone Crisis” or, most recently, the “European Crisis”. It started as a Greek Drama – it now looks like a “European Tragedy”. 

Is it really so? 

No, absolutely not. Europe remains the world’s largest economy and Europeans enjoy a quality of life that others aspire to. 

Europeans envision a sustainable and fair global economic and societal ecosystem. This vision was born in the aftermath of the horrors of World War II and achieved thanks to the hard work of our grandparents and parents. 

It’s up to us, the so-called “Lost Generation”, to make sure that the results of this decades-long hard work is not lost. 

Labour in a progressive society is about realising one’s creativity in a financially sustainable manner. Unfortunately in many European countries a “good job” is one where you earn a secure salary without really having to work too hard. 

This type of a “good job” was often in the public sector. This harsh reality killed European competitiveness and created a completely wrong public attitude towards entrepreneurship. 

As such, we need to rediscover the joy of creativity and redefine what a “good job” really is. 

Europeans also have to rethink what it means to be a citizen. Participation in politics in not only about voting. Citizens need to think, discuss, exchange ideas, contribute and demand. 

It’s time to “think European”. Europe needs a leadership which is empowered by the people. Forget intergovernmental and federal options. It is time for courage to speak of building a European Republic.

Challenge Accepted - The European Union Nobel Peace Prize

We all know that Europe is a rising superpower.

There are centers of influence trying to make us forget it, however in terms of financial, human and symbolic capital the European Union is today way the strongest entity in the global landscape.

It's up to us, every single European, to make this rising superpower a superpower of democracy, justice, equality and culture.

We must be proud of what our parents and grandparents have created: Europe is today the best society ever created by the mankind. It's up to us to make it even better.

The Nobel Peace Prize is a call for action for every European.  A call for action to turn this society of democracy, justice, equality and culture from a vision to a reality. The Nobel Peace Prize for the European Union actually brings a challenge ahead of every European. As far as I'm concerned, I accept the challenge. I'm confident that Generation Ten across Europe will accept the challenge. The Youth of Europe wilk accept the challenge.

We European, working together and putting European interest above the short-sighted national interest, will make the World, a better place.

For every European, the Nobel Peace Prize it's a duty, not an award. For every European, the Nobel Peace Prize is a call for deeper integration in Europe. A call for moving forward with establishing the European Federation.

Europe has paid the price of nationalism. It was a very high price, from any point of view. None of us will allow nationalism to rise again in Europe. The Nobel Peace Prize has been an alarm bell to all of us.

No, the nightmare of nationalism will stay away. The European project will continue, it will successfully respond to any challenge and the society of of democracy, justice, equality and culture will be our future.

Warmest congratulations to the Norwegian Nobel Committee for this inspiring, eye-opening, change-making decision!

The only effective response to the debt crisis is Federal Europe

What we are experiencing in Europe the last two years, very much more the last six months, is the result of political hesitation for a deeper & stronger European integration.

The obvious statement that "a monetary union without a real financial union is not sustainable" is proven right at an amazing manner day-by-day.

Political systems across Europe struggle to stay in power, betting, quite unfortunately, on a concept which we all thought was deep-burried in European history: Nationalism.

Watching news in European countries makes you think that there are some very bad people in Brussels dictating decisions and 'imposing authority' on the national governments. Interestingly enough, this stands both for strong and weak economies in the EU.

This is pure populism and we should all stand against it.

For European Economy, for Europe in general, in order to play any role in future geopolitics and geoeconomy, has to get truly united, has to explore economies of scale. The 19th century US history teaches the most important lessons about this.

A truly united Europe can only be a Federal Europe, with a directly elected European government for the European citizens.

We all live extreme moments in Europe. Yes, it's about business, it's about entrepreneurship, it's about stability, it's about sustainability. IMHO, it is ridiculous to believe that Europe faces a financial crisis.

The European debt crisis is a pure political crisis and the response can only fall in the field of politics.

Entrepreneurs, as actors of innovation, creativity and progress, should use all their influence and power to move decisions to the right direction.

A truly united Europe, a federal European State, will only be good for us Europeans and for the rest of the World.

Last but certainly not least: We just need to realize that a possible return of Nationalism in Europe will be THE END for all of us and, after that, do whatever necessary to realize a truly united, Federal Europe.