From central European minnows such as Slovakia to Baltic eurozone republics such as Latvia and Lithuania, hard-pressed pensioners and workers earning barely €500 a month are at a loss as to why Greece should qualify for more largesse.
Milda’s monthly pension is €293 a month , well under half the current level in Greece. When Latvia went through a similar debt crisis in 2009, it imposed swingeing budget cuts and tax increases worth about 15% of GDP over three years. Output fell by a quarter and unemployment soared to more than 20%. The population fell as people left in droves.
These measures were hugely controversial at the time, and many people thought they would lead to catastrophe. The US economist Paul Krugman predicted at the end of 2008: “Latvia is the new Argentina.”
By the second half of 2010, however, the economy had started to grow again, and from 2011 to 2013 Latvia was among the fastest growing countries in the EU. Despite the fact that the currency was not devalued, exports are now at record highs, some 60% above where they were before the crisis.
So in Latvia there is a widespread view: “If we did it, why can’t the Greeks?”
In next-door Lithuania, politicians are also struggle to tell their electorate why a country that tightened its belt should now pay for one that will not.
The average monthly pension in Lithuania is €242.10 before tax, compared with €700 in Greece. The average wage in Lithuania is €699.80 before tax and €543.60 after, again way below the Greek average.
Average Monthly Pensions (In Euros)
Greece 833
Lativa 293
Lithuania 242
...the Greeks shouldn’t be so arrogant about it,” Goštautas said. “They suffered cuts from a higher level, and these cuts had to be painful. It’s hard to help someone when you’re not in a good situation yourself...”
Valentinas Mazuronis, an MEP and head of the Labour party, one of the members of the current coalition, said Lithuania should not give any money to Greece.
“It is time to say ‘stop’. Not a single penny to Greece until reforms are actually launched,” he said. Further aid should only be granted if Greece takes real measures instead of “another hocus-pocus”.