"I am in Greece and it is very interesting to listen to what ordinary people have to say here. Due to media coverage, many believe that the problems of the Euro, in general, and of Greece, in particular, are the result of a conscious effort by USA financial circles to undermine the Euro and Europe. They do not look in the mirror and acknowledge Greece's responsibility. Only today I heard how masses of Greek avoid paying water and electricity bills by falsifying their meters.

"In addition, there is growing anger at the fact that ordinary Greeks, earning very low wages, are having to bear the financial burdens of austerity measures. The demonstrations here and in other European countries against austerity (often copying the Facebook/Twitter models of the Arab uprisings) have to be taken very seriously. There is real troubling building up on this front."

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this insightful, on-the-ground report contributed in the spirit of Empowerment Through Knowledge. The current Greek constitution dates from 1975 and followed a particularly tumultuous period in the country's history. EU membership, in addition to structural funds helped cement democracy but anyone older than 36 will remember a time when political division and social unrest were all too common.

A failure of governance has led Greece to the situation it is in today and the sooner the local population accept this fact the better for the country's recovery prospects. Denial is the most primitive of defence mechanisms. "I didn't do it" made famous by Bart Simpson is an example of such a defence. "Acting Out" is equally primitive and readily observable among crowds of people turning to violent behaviour to express their anger. This short report "15 Common Defense Mechanisms" by John Grohol may be of interest.

Greece is facing austerity one way or another. Recovery is only a realistic possibility if significant reform is wholeheartedly adopted. The bigger issue is how a potential default would affect creditors such as Germany, France and the Netherland's banks as well as the ECB itself. Given the potential for such a dire result, Greece's creditors have proved willing to do what is necessary to avoid that eventuality, which is why a second bailout has been agreed to.

This problem is not going to be solved in the short-term. The appetite for austerity in the Eurozone periphery cannot simply be taken for granted. The European Commission has been playing for time in an effort to recapitalise the Eurozone's banking sector and the ECB has accepted a large quantity of peripheral debt as collateral. This article by Alkman Granitsas which appeared in the Wall Street Journal carries a timeline of the decisions that will need to be made in Greece over the coming months. At any point in the next few months, the Greek issue could flare up and act as an obstacle for the Euro and its banking sector.

The Euro has rallied over the last few weeks as the focus of bearish attention has shifted back to the US Dollar. However, when compared to comparatively strong commodity related or Asian currencies, the Euro is not a particularly attractive alternative.