On Monday, October 31st, Greece government representative, prime-minister George Papandreou made a statement that EU bailout plan will be
voted on by Greek nation, thus the referendum will be held. Mr. Papandreou justified such decision by the fact that democracy is intended to give
people a choice and his government is not willing to take away that right. Referendum has not been held in Greece since 1970, when it was decided to cancel monarchy.

European leaders and global community in general reacted negatively to such decision claiming that Greek government is not willing to take
responsibility during such complicated period. Statements have been made that it is not acceptable to vote on the plan that has been worked on for
several months by not only European leaders, but also banks that agreed to accept 50% losses on Greek debt. Stock markets reacted immediately
with sharp 3 to 6 percentage points drops. Warsaw Stock Exchange was closed on Tuesday, November 1 st, thus reaction of Polish investors is yet
unknown.

Despite the fact that decision of Greek government outraged leaders of EU countries, there is one viable reason to such decision (aside desire to
avoid responsibility) which certainly justifies the referendum. Austerity measures caused protests from Greek nation and there has been a certain
level of manifests against such steps. In case Bailout plan was accepted without referendum, there might be high chance of not only peaceful
manifestation but high-scale protests including use of force. London riots and current “Occupy Wall-Street” movement set a good example of how
sometimes peaceful action might grow into potential full-scale aggression. George Papandreou might have foreseen such outcome and decided to
come to ultimate decision of empowering his own citizens to vote on the final decision. The responsibility given to population of Greece will enable
future understanding of austerity actions, social programs’ cuts, etc. It is clear that Mr. Prime Minister faces great risk in case referendum decision is
to decline the plan, which would mean that the position of Greece in European Union would become very shaky.

At this point, in case the referendum is held, it is direct responsibility of George Papandreou to ensure that the plan is accepted and that the nation
understands the consequences of the decision. Government of Greece has to be as open as it is possible during this risky period.

UAIndex