Greece – Turkey and the Quake Diplomacy

With regard to the earthquake diplomacy which unfolds under the orchestrated coverage of the media, it goes without saying that any rapprochement between Greece and Turkey depends on the material advance of the economic and political reforms (which essentially means stamp out systemic corruption) in the direction of European modernisation in the two countries and especially in Greece which is member state of the EU and the EMU.

For the historic record, it is noted that similar diplomacy during the earthquakes of 1999 in Turkey, which supported the waiver of Greek opposition (veto) to the EU relations with Turkey and which led to the accession of Greece in the EMU (2000) and of Cyprus in the EU (2004) and in EMU (2008) – notably without prior resolution of the Cyprus problem (and in which the undersigned as usual contributed), advanced on the same modernisation grounds. Regardless of whether the undertaken and promised economic reforms and structural changes in Greece were subsequently discarded and similar regressions followed in Turkey .

Conversely, after the national accomplishments of the early 2000’s we went to national insolvency of 2009, the mass illegal migration and near Grexit of 2015 and finally and inescapably to the current serious coercions and challenges of Greece’s national security, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and moreover in the current ominous bilateral, regional and international (economic, geopolitical and military) environment.

No bad is pure of good however, hence the ruling interests with the support of the media, at least have no longer room for further taunting of the implementation of real reforms and structural changes in Greece, which are so profoundly and precariously overdue.

Essentially, this is the restitution of democracy and of the rule of law, the stamping out of systemic corruption and the liberation of the market, the economy and the country from the regime of state partisanship, oligarchy, kleptocracy and treason. This is procured by the honest and lawful administration and management of the national and especially of the EU funds, the diligent transparency, evaluation and accountability of the expenditures and investments, the defeat of systematic misappropriation and embezzlement of public rights, assets and dispositions whether overt or especially covert, the defund of political and organised crime and finally by the plain honouring of the vows and execution of the duties of the market regulation and supervision authorities (especially on competition and state aid), of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies and of the prosecution and judicial authorities at national and European level.

John A. Economides