Boris Johnson and Michael Gove stand together during a Vote Leave rally. Isabel Infantes /Press Association. All rights reserved.A year ago, the EU was preoccupied with the possibility of Greece’s exit from the eurozone and a snap referendum proclaimed by the Greek government for or against a memorandum, incorporating the latest version of an austerity agreement with its creditors.
The Greek referendum held on July 5, 2015 was the final chapter of over six months of largely fruitless negotiations between the recently elected left wing government of Syriza and the Troika (ECB, IMF and European Commission). In practice, voting Yes to the memorandum meant the survival of Greece in the eurozone under strict austerity rules, while voting No would eventually lead to default in the country’s payments and exit (temporary or permanent) from the euro area.
The Greek government vociferously supported the No campaign. Partly as a consequence of this, the majority of Greeks (61%) voted No to the memorandum but the Greek government, faced with the prospect of bankruptcy and economic collapse, was then forced to agree to an even tougher version of the agreement.
