Sovereign debt: Greece was the first to restructure but might not be the last

As Euromoney went to press, the bailout deal agreed by European heads of state for Greece on July 21 looked at risk of unravelling over a squabble arising from other countries, including Austria and the Netherlands, objecting to the private side deal by which Finland had appeared to extract from Greece cash collateral to be put against its share of commitments.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou 

George Papandreou: Greece got a sweet deal. What about the others?

It’s a dilemma. When one country gets a sweeter deal, do others object to it on principle, complain about others breaking ranks… or seek the same advantageous terms for themselves?

The dilemma now faces some other countries over whether or not to seek the same kind of debt forgiveness that Greece now looks set to receive. The Greek deal marks a new phase of the sovereign debt crisis.

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