By order of the EU and the IMF Greece now has to slash its spending on military defense systems, but is that the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Well not really. It looks like France and Germany have placed a high priority on maintaining arms deals with Greece following the 2008 financial crisis, rather than see our country cut spending and they are not doing this to help us secure our nation against a possible threat with Turkey, but rather because they want to maintain their arms industries. While most Greeks are critical of the reforms on which the troika are insisting, many also now feel that Germany and France share some of the blame for Greece's overspending and are openly calling them hypocrites.
But don't take our word for it, even the Germans themselves are openly criticizing their own government about this too! In a recent mini-documentary that was broadcasted on Germany's WDR channel we discovered that the military defense industries of Germany and France have been thriving even during Greece's debt crisis. According to the data presented, Greece is one of the leading NATO members -the United States is the first- on military spending "and who is benefiting from all this military spending? Why Germany of course" said the report.In fact the reporter said that not only have German arms industries sold their goods to Greek authorities, but its army has also made killer sales to Greece as well.
She is right, according to an article in euobserver, France was by far the biggest seller, with a 794 million Euros aircraft deal, according to recently-released European Council data on arms licences granted by member states. It also sold 58 million of missiles Euros and 19 million of electronics Euros used for aircraft countermeasures and target acquisition. At the same time, notes the same article, pro-austerity advocates the Netherlands and Germany together sold almost 90 million Euros of mostly electronics and ground vehicles. Italy sold 52 million Euros of rifles and aircraft parts, while Spain sold 33 million Euros of military-grade chemicals. (Source - Euobserver)
The Daily Telegraph describes this as hypocrisy. In a report it reveals that when Greece was plunged into the debt crisis in 2010, the EU began a scheduled £200 billion in aid payments, but European countries continued to sell aircraft, tanks, artillery and submarines to the Greek military. In fact the same report notes that in the same year France concluded a £662 million military aircraft deal with Greece as well. Shockingly the same report also reveals that In October 2011, as the EU negotiated a second bail-out for our country, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Nicola Sarkozy, told the Greek government that all existing arms contracts must be honored!
Official German trade figures showed that in 2010 Germany, which has demanded draconian cuts to Greek social welfare spending, sold weaponry, including a submarine, worth £336 million to the impoverished southern Mediterranean country. (Source - Telegraph)In a separate report on defensenews EU parliamentarian Cohn-Bendit said on March 5 that former premier George Papandreou had told him that Berlin and Paris had not wanted Athens to slash military spending, as that would hurt their industries. (source defensenews)
In yet another report in the Belfast telegraph we read that the arms purchases made by Greece were beyond our country's capacity to absorb, even before the financial crisis struck in 2009.
In the new bailout agreement, Greece will pledge to reduce its defence spending by some €400m. Eurozone leaders have hitherto been notably more tolerant of Greece's arms expenditure – though this is twice the size of the Nato average as a proportion of GDP – than it has of excessive spending on health or pensions.There is certainly a storm of hypocrisy here.
"It is easily forgotten when Greece is criticised that there has been not very subtle pressure from France to buy six frigates," says Thanos Dokos, the director general of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy.
He adds that Greece was unwise to be the first purchaser of new weapons systems, such as German submarines, that still had technical glitches.
There is now a serious disparity between the limited resources of the Greek state and its very expensive weapons.
Simos Kedikoglou, an MP of the New Democracy party, says that "pilots of F-16 [combat aircraft] are paid €1,200-a-month salary while they fly aircraft worth €60-70 million."
Read more: belfastelegraph
In fact, other reports over the last few months have said that if Greece gets the next tranche of bailout cash due in March -in the region of 75 billion Euros then some new arms contracts will be signed.
There is certainly a storm of hypocrisy here. And the obvious question is how can an allegedly "bankrupt" nation like Greece afford expensive defense systems and use them against a fellow NATO member?
Also, who gives France and Germany the right to enforce contracts on our country when
thousands have been left homeless, when health and welfare services have been slashed, when pensions have been decreased to almost nothing and when the average salary has dropped to almost peanuts?
Who do these people think they are?
Don't they realize that our schools do not have textbooks, one out of every five persons (official numbers) in Greece is currently without a job, thousands are looking through the rubbish for something to eat, the cost of petrol, electricity, water and food have skyrocketed and Merkel and Sarkozy are playing diplomats to their countries' defense industries....
Are they are forcing us to purchase defense systems?
Cause if they are, and are at the same time forcing us to lower our standards of living so that their nations can reap in the benefits... then that can only be termed as pitiful.
Aei sixtir pia!
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