Transcending the national
A few years ago, merely the goal of Greece’s entry into the EMU and the eurozone sounded like wishful thinking, rather than a realistic, tangible prospect. However, not only is Greece now a eurozone member, but also Lucas Papademos, governor of the Bank of Greece, was nominated on Saturday as the European Central Bank’s next vice president – that is number two in the hierarchy of the single currency’s guardians. Papademos’s personality was undoubtedly the fundamental criterion for his selection by the EU’s national finance ministers for this senior post. Another was the tangible proof of his capabilities: his decisive contribution to Greece’s major accomplishment of fulfilling the strict EMU criteria. The foreign press is full of commendation for the Greek vice president of the ECB, in a rare unanimity of positive views and praise which highlights Papademos’s pan-European recognition. However, apart from Papademos’s personal triumph, which would alone suffice to make all Greek citizens proud, his nomination also conveys another, more significant message. Greece was the 12th EU member to join the eurozone. Greece ranks at the bottom of the most important economic and social EU tables. And yet, it was from a country which lags behind in most sectors that the ECB’s vice president was elected amid applause by other EU partners. The message is clear. The new era, which is marked by globalization, the formation of multiethnic blocs, cooperation and intense competition, may pose the risk of the marginalization of the weaker states but also offers them unprecedented opportunities to distinguish themselves in transnational systems and unions that transcend the thinking of those who still cleave to narrow national boundaries, a mentality typical of the previous century. Recognition of Papademos’s credentials inside Greece is one thing. Their recognition inside a greater EU bloc is quite another. Papademos’s nomination for the ECB post proves that national origin is no obstacle when the range of qualities possessed is pan-European. Let us work, as country and as individuals, in such a way as to render our participation in the EU a springboard for joining new areas of infinite possibilities. We already have one successful model.
