Reporting from Athens. Jorge Valero contributed to this article
A flip chart parked in a corner of the office of Greece's Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis is filled with scribbled layers of lines, arrows and boxes. A line divides the sheet into two parts: one is labelled 'nai', the other 'oxi' ('yes' and 'no' in Greek). During its fiercely fought loan negotiations with its international lenders, which are now drawing to a close, the Greek government has also done its…
Cuts to defence budget?
No cuts to pensions in Greece this year in exchange for cuts to the defence budget is one idea allegedly floated by the European Commission to facilitate the conclusion of a credit agreement with Greece. The IMF has opposed such a deal, but the demand for the reduction of Greece's military spending is now gaining traction among German politicians as well. Greece is among the very few NATO members that stick to the rule set by the alliance that national defence spending shall be at least 2% of GDP. It used to be well above this mark due to tensions with Turkey: 4.3% in 2002 and 2.8% in 2008, before the crisis; in 2014, it stood at 2.2%. With GDP shrinking, military expenditure fell in nominal terms by 46% between 2010 and 2015, from €6 billion to €3.25 billion. In April 2015, however, a controversy broke out in Greece over the revelation that Defence Minister Panos Kammenos, the rightist junior partner in the government coalition, has ordered the upgrade of five maritime patrol aircraft – US-made Lockheed P-3B Orion – for a total of €500 million.
