Greece’s debt crisis

Jul 16, 2025

Euclid Tsakalotos, former finance minister of Greece and economics professor, offers an insider's perspective on the country's 2015 debt crisis. He shares gripping details from a make-or-break 17-hour summit in Brussels, where tensions ran high as Greece faced potential exit from the Eurozone. Tsakalotos recounts how European leaders, including Angela Merkel, reacted under pressure and the dramatic moment when a door was locked to ensure negotiation continuity. His reflections illuminate the dire straits the Greek populace endured during this tumultuous time.

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ANECDOTE

Tsakalotos Faces Hostile Meeting

Euclid Tsakalotos arrived as Greece's finance minister amid hostile meetings with furious European counterparts.
Officials apologized afterward for never witnessing such aggressive attacks in Eurogroup history.

INSIGHT

Economic Strain Sparks Referendum

Greece's debts reached 180% of its yearly economic output, forcing tough austerity and welfare cuts.
A third bailout referendum saw Greeks voting no amid closed banks and soaring unemployment.

INSIGHT

Monetary Union’s Fragile Trust

Monetary union means no country should devalue its currency, seen as an unbreakable promise.
A single breach causes suspicion that threatens the entire monetary union's stability.

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It was a week that brought the future of Greece and the Eurozone to the brink. Ten years ago, on 6 July the Greek people voted against the terms of a financial bailout which included raising taxes and slashing welfare spending.

Greece owed €323bn to various countries and banks within Europe. Its banks were closed. A quarter of the population and half of Greece’s young people were unemployed.

The morning after the vote, Euclid Tsakalotos was brought in to replace Yanis Varoufakis as finance minister. His predecessor had accused European leaders of “terrorism” in their handling of the crisis. Parachuted in to last-ditch talks with angry European leaders, Euclid Tsakalotos describes to Josephine McDermott the make-or-break 17-hour summit in Brussels.

He reveals that when Angela Merkel, the leader of Greece’s biggest lender Germany, said she was leaving the room because she could not accept what was on the table, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, actually locked the door to stop her leaving and force an agreement to be reached.

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(Photo: A queue outside a bank in Greece in 2015. Credit: Getty Images)