How are people in Greece coping with the austerity measures imposed on them? How do the Portuguese view the future? What more should Europe do?

Focus: Coping with the crisis, one year after

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15558543/M001-0062-EN.srt

Hello. A year ago,  after much indecision,

but also gave Athens the task of sorting  out its finances within a few years.

How are Greek citizens coping  with paying the bill for this crisis?

And how is Portugal preparing  to take on a similar commitment

after being overwhelmed  by speculation?

Georges Kuvaras will tell us  about the depression in Greece

and then we will discuss it  with our guests.

The City Hall is occupied by  former employees of the municipality.

Some 2,500 families face  serious unemployment problems

because their contracts  were not renewed.

Theodora Gkotsi, 43, has worked  20 years for the municipality.

The public sector cuts and  the severe austerity measures

I'm very worried because of my age.  It's really difficult. I want the money.

My age is a drawback,  also for many of my colleagues.

Unemployment has, for the first time,  exceeded 15% of the active population.

Businesses are closing down  and the public sector is not recruiting.

Some people remain calm,  others end up in extreme situations.

Theodora knows many people  who have contemplated suicide.

It's talked about everywhere.  Some people are practically starving.

We want everyone to live,  so that we can fight for what we want.

For Theodora, it's a problem, but for  psychologist Aris Violatzis, a nightmare.

I'll show you something.  -On NGO Klimaka's helpline

a 45-year old man  is ready to hang himself.

He called us on the helpline,  half-drunk, asking for help,

angry at everyone, and at us,  for what had happened to him.

At first he wouldn't accept help,  he thought we couldn't do anything.

and we undid the loop he had fixed  to the ceiling of his living room

where he had planned  to commit suicide with a ladder.

The reason was clear, he had been made  redundant five months before.

He had lost his job  and had no means to live.

Forget about this.  Let's move on and find a solution.

Food is distributed daily in this centre.

Different people have been coming here  in the past year.

We get people with more than one  degree, with professional experience,

people with all the proper qualifications.

For Greeks, the big question  is the length of the crisis.

The answer will undoubtedly be found,  and within Europe as well.

So, to discuss the eurozone  one year after the Greek crisis,

Anni Podimata from  the Socialists and Democrats Group,

and João Ferreira from the United Left.

it's more or less one year  since the Greek nightmare started.

We have seen that  the Greek people are suffering a lot.

Do you think that one day  you will come out from the shadow?

There is no doubt that Greece  and especially the Greek people

are implementing a very ambitious  but also very painful programme

of fiscal consolidation,  structural reforms,

which creates a lot of burdens  for ordinary people.

There have been  very important wage reductions,

to a very significant recession  in 2009 and 2010,

and all of this has a cost  for ordinary people.

But we have to take into consideration  what the alternative would be.

at the beginning  of this whole nightmare.

I remember we were talking  about European solidarity.

You were a bit sceptical. And then we  have seen what's happened this year.

So not only Greece  but then Ireland, and now Portugal.

Are you still sceptical,  or was this the only way to go through?

I think what we see now  is more European solidarity

because we saw that the loans were  given, against very strict conditions.

I remain sceptical whether  it will really have a happy ending.

The thing is still...  In the case of Greece

I think a lot of very painful measures  have been taken,

but it's not over yet,  so the government and the Greek public

will need a lot of stamina  to go on with the fiscal measures,

to go on with the reforms  of the economy,

for Greece to get out  of the current problems.

In the meantime German growth  is increasing and increasing,

and the core of  the European currency is still big.

The gap is increasing but I think this  also enables the German government

Imagine a situation where Germany  was not growing strongly right now.

You would immediately get  much more domestic confrontation

The voters in Germany would oppose  any bailout plans right now.

How can you explain to people in Portugal  that these are necessary sacrifices?

They are not.  We have a monetary union,

to which countries,  at very different stages of development,