Economy's response to memorandum offers hope

Greece's participation in the Economic and Monetary Union and the favorable conditions this brought led to its economy growing at a rapid pace. This growth was based mainly on domestic demand and consumption was instrumental, being fed by both public and private lending. Thus, new problems compounded the already existing weaknesses of the domestic model of production: unjustifiably expansive fiscal policies, swelling debt, a serious deterioration of competitiveness and a significant increase in the external deficit. The global financial crisis of 2008 turned the spotlight on the problem cases. In Greece, the crisis swiftly turned into a debt crisis and the country was shut out of the international markets in a period when the state's borrowing requirements were greater than ever before. In 2009, shortly before the outbreak of the debt crisis, the public sector deficit stood above...