By Aidan Fox ’16 , News Editor

Stakes and tensions are high for Greece and the European Union as the two continuously fail to agree on the methods of keeping the Greek economy afloat. On February 20th, a meeting between Greece’s finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis and European Union finance ministers broke down after talks regarding the €240 billion ($272 billion) aid deal Greece was given by EU. This deal expired on February 28th and was expected to have been extended as a temporary measure.

The conflict stems from the central ideological dispute of austerity, a debate present in many western governments today. Germany continues to be a hardline supporter of Greek austerity, a policy in which all possible budget cuts would be made. Champions of this game theory-inspired strategy encourage the eventual cutting off of international support, forcing Greece to cooperate. The newly popular leftist party, Syriza, which Varoufakis is a member of, rejects austerity proposals including the ones made this Monday. It argues that further cuts would stifle the economy and would not cause cooperation, but rather, would force Greece to default on its loans or drop the euro. Either of these could cause bank failures and damage the entire European economy. Nobel Prize-winning New York Times economist/columnist, Paul Krugman, wrote, “Spending cuts have already driven Greece into a deep depression, and further cuts would make that depression deeper.” Krugman also referred to Germany’s Weimar Republic as a lesson in austerity, pointing out that Britain and France’s harsh demands for reparations only created hyperinflation and that in the early 1930s, “having learned the wrong lessons,” the Weimar inflicted austerity on itself and further damaged the economy.

Varoufakis, an economist who describes himself as an “erratic Marxist,” insists that further support from international banks like the EU-run European Central Bank is necessary to support and stimulate the economy, which will eventually allow the nation to repay its €328 billion debt that represents 168% of its GDP. “Our government,” he wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed, “is not asking our partners for a way out of repaying our debts. We are asking for a few months of financial stability that will allow us to embark upon the task of reforms that the broad Greek population can own and support, so we can bring back growth and end our inability to pay our dues.”