Euro group president blames Ottoman heritage for Greek crisis

ISTANBUL

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker briefs the media after an informal European Union leaders summit in Brussels May 24, 2012. REUTERS Photo

The "Ottoman invasion" of Greece is the main cause for the country’s current financial crisis, Luxembourger Prime Minister and Euro Group President Jean-Claude Juncker has said, noting the negative impact the occupation had on Greece’s fiscal development, according to daily Hürriyet.
 
"Greece is a very big nation but a very weak state," Juncker said during an interview with Politique Internationale. "It's the truth: Their fiscal management is not working. There is no staff, no real trade history, which is the heritage of the Ottoman invasion."
 
Juncker also told Politique Internationale that Spain and Portugal had better chances of recovering than Greece, which may take years to get back on its feet.
 
"How can you privatize anything when such important factors are missing?" Juncker said.