# Grexit- What will happen to the EU Citizens living in Greece?



## Emmashley (Jun 18, 2015)

If Greece defaults on its loans and is forced out of the Eurozone and EU, what will happen to those EU citizens living in Greece? Or those who wish to move to Greece? 

Does anyone have any ideas? 

Thanks!


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

Emmashley said:


> If Greece defaults on its loans and is forced out of the Eurozone and EU, what will happen to those EU citizens living in Greece? Or those who wish to move to Greece?
> 
> Does anyone have any ideas?
> 
> Thanks!


Hi,I think the above is highly unlikely,I thinks its been a big set-up melodrama to keep the Greek peoples minds occupied that so that they dont get up in arms about the fact that little or no money has been deposited into vital social services such as health care,fire services etc..etc..hospitals. and the fact that they are poor, unemployed and hungry with 10.00 suicides,the set-up drama sure keeps them glued to the box. It would certainly be interesting as to whether EU citizens would be thrown out if they are not married to a Greek citizen.But we must also think about what happens if the UK comes out of the EU?that I also doubt.It would certainly be a mess wouldnt it,our freedom of travel would be seriously blighted.
We of course shall know soon enough,however if its not tomorrow then perhaps later as Greece seems to be just kicking the can further down the road but I did read today that the UK might also be kicking the can down the road if they had joined the EURO as their debt is way, way bigger than that of Greece.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

What happens to British Expats if the UK left the EU.....an on-line article by Steve Peers ...Expert insight into EU law developments 9 May 2014...I think many of the possibilities would be applicable to what might apply if Greece left the EU,There are various options a non EU country might choose,some not so good for Xpats,but of course leaving the Euro doesnt mean leaving the EU,I dont think.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

To add,just seen this today....The telegraph Sunday 21 June 2015.....Britain Staying in the EU Looks More and More Absurd....by Simon Heffer.My husband said to me today...so what if we want to go back to the UK later and they are out,or Greece is out(hes Greek)...no darling,we need about 26,000 between us each year by the rules for the UK so thats a big no...no.All gets complicated,just have to wait and see,oh dear.


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

The Euro and the EU are NOT one and the same thing.

If Greece were forced to give up the Euro they would no doubt go back to the Drachma. It would have no affect whatsover in their continuing to be a member of the EU. They were an EU member on the Drachma just as Germany was an EU member on the Duetschmark and France an EU member on the Franc.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

concertina said:


> To add,just seen this today....The telegraph Sunday 21 June 2015.....Britain Staying in the EU Looks More and More Absurd....by Simon Heffer.My husband said to me today...so what if we want to go back to the UK later and they are out,or Greece is out(hes Greek)...no darling,we need about 26,000 between us each year by the rules for the UK so thats a big no...no.All gets complicated,just have to wait and see,oh dear.


Actually the UK citizen would need to be earning £18,600/year to support a non-EU spouse.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

nyclon said:


> Actually the UK citizen would need to be earning £18,600/year to support a non-EU spouse.[/QUO
> Actually that rises of course if one has children,and if one had 3 then that comes up to nearly 26.000 pounds earnings per year I believe.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

OldPro said:


> The Euro and the EU are NOT one and the same thing.
> 
> If Greece were forced to give up the Euro they would no doubt go back to the Drachma. It would have no affect whatsover in their continuing to be a member of the EU. They were an EU member on the Drachma just as Germany was an EU member on the Duetschmark and France an EU member on the Franc.


This is not so,Martin Schulz president of the European Parliament has clarified the fact that there is no means to leave the Euro,to do so a Euro member country must request to first leave the EU.You can be in the EU but once a country joins the EURO then they cannot just say,we want out of the EURO and go back to being just EU members,its not that simple.Thats why I mentioned this problem because it may have disastrous consequences for Expats living in Greece and I kept reading serious literature which said the same thing.


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## MarkIL (Jan 28, 2015)

I'm not sure the phrase: "You can be in the EU but once a country joins the EURO" is correct.
Romania for example is in the EU but still didn't receive the EURO (probably in 2019 they will start using the euro), and they are also many countries in the EU who didn't accept the EURO like the UK or Sweden. 

Right now people are talking about getting out of the euro-zone, not about the EU and it's not the same thing. eventually if they will get out of the euro-zone, they will go back to use the Drachma and for the expats with European nationality who are living there, there isn't any impact regarding there status. 

but there isn't any case in the past of a country who left the euro-zone so we can't know for sure.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

concertina said:


> nyclon said:
> 
> 
> > Actually the UK citizen would need to be earning £18,600/year to support a non-EU spouse.[/QUO
> ...


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

MarkIL said:


> I'm not sure the phrase: "You can be in the EU but once a country joins the EURO" is correct.
> Romania for example is in the EU but still didn't receive the EURO (probably in 2019 they will start using the euro), and they are also many countries in the EU who didn't accept the EURO like the UK or Sweden.
> 
> Right now people are talking about getting out of the euro-zone, not about the EU and it's not the same thing. eventually if they will get out of the euro-zone, they will go back to use the Drachma and for the expats with European nationality who are living there, there isn't any impact regarding there status.
> ...


Greece is not asking to leave the Euro or the EU,it never did ask to do so,the yes or no vote is not for that,the Germans may be brain-washing the Greeks and the rest of the planet into believing it is but that is not so.There is non-stop talk of a future British referendum on leaving the EU.You dont accept the Euro,you apply to join the Euro if you are a member of the EU.Yes you are right,no EU member with the Euro has ever left because there is no mandate to do so,in theory its not possible and threatening an EU-Euro country that they will be kicked out is totally against EU law.If the British vote to leave the EU then there will be an impact on Expats,their rights to live in EU countries on a permanent basis will be in question.


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## LaurenTUK (Jul 6, 2015)

Hello, I'm a reporter for the BBC news website and just wondered if any of you would be happy to talk about the weekend's developments? Let me know if so, thanks for your time.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

I would be more than happy to discuss the situation in Greece and the last weekends referendum result.I have lived here in Athens for more than twenty years and I am married to a Greek.


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## LaurenTUK (Jul 6, 2015)

Thank you - I don't seem to be able to post my contact details on here, if you are able to give me yours that would be really helpful and we can take it from there. Many thanks.


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## LaurenTUK (Jul 6, 2015)

Okay going to try again...! You can get me at removed by moderator. Many thanks.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Lauren, if you want to contact concertina, please do so via the PM function. Forum rules do not allow for posting of private contact information on the open forum.


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

Haven't checked here for a while so apologies for the late response to your last comment quoting me Concertina.

1. To join the Eurozone, a country must first be a member of the EU.
2. To join the EU, a country does not have to join the Eurozone.
3. No process exists for a country in the Eurozone to be 'kicked out' or voluntarily leave the Eurozone. Apparently, no one thought of either possibility. To leave, all Greece has to do is stop using the Euro and go back to issuing Drachmas. This is also why the talk of kicking Greece out of the Eurozone is meaningless. There is no process to 'kick' them out. What could be done is to stop sending Euros to the Greek National Bank which would perhaps effectively stop them using the Euro if they did not have enough in cash to allow for normal circulation of cash within the country.
4. Any country is free to use any currency they wish. That is demonstrated by several countries who use the US$ as their national currency and several countries who are not members of the Eurozone who use the Euro as their currency. 
5. All that is required for a country to use any currency as their national currency is to get their hands on enough of it in cash to allow for the normal circulation of cash within the country. Greece could default on their loans and continue to use the Euro as their national currency if they had enough in cash. It is more likely however that they would revert to the Drachma. But it would not be mandatory.
6. There is also no process to 'kick' a country out of the EU. There is a process for a country to ask to leave the EU. They can ask to leave but it must be approved by the other member countries.

So bottom line, for Greece to leave the EU and any questions about the affect on non-Greek EU nationals to be raised, has nothing to do with whether Greece chooses to continue using the Euro or not. Greece would have to apply to leave the EU and have it approved by the other member countries. Just how the other countries would be able to stop them from withdrawing short of going to war, is very unclear. It really is a very complicated combination of things.
Could Greece Get Kicked Out of the European Union? | Foreign Policy
Also quite clear here:
A default doesnâ€™t mean Greece being kicked out of the eurozone. Hereâ€™s why | Oliver Pahnecke | Comment is free | The Guardian

That covers would the exit of Greece from the Eurozone affect expats which was the original question I believe. The alternative question of what would happen to UK expats in Greece if the UK left the EU, falls under the same rules. The UK public could vote to leave the EU but in fact the UK cannot legally leave the EU unless the other member countries agreed to allow it to leave. Again, short of going to war just how the other EU member countries could stop them from leaving is an unanswered question.


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