WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Sunday, more than 61 percent of Greek voters rejected in a referendum austerity measures proposed by Athens' major international creditors, which has renewed fears of Greece defaulting on outstanding debt and exiting the eurozone.
"We expected tangible results from the [EU] austerity policies of the past five years, but we never got them," University of Massachusetts in Boston Economics Lecturer Harry Konstantinidis told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"Those policies have been catastrophic, but we still have to see any admission of this by European leaders."
EU leaders, Konstantinidis argued, have the power and the responsibility to rectify the situation.
"The European leaders have to decide what to do next," Konstantinidis explained. "The ball is in their court, and they can make things happen."
Stratfor Vice President of Global Analysis Reva Bhalla told Sputnik not to expect the United States government to swoop in and save Greece's economy anytime soon.
"There isn't much the United States can do about the Greek situation aside from bailing out Greece itself, and that's just not going to happen. You won't find the political will in Washington to solve this European problem."
In fact, Bhalla argued, the United States will likely reap financial benefits from the Greek crisis.
"Economically, the specter of Grexit [Greece exiting the eurozone] will buoy the US economy as uncertainty in Europe will lead to more capital flooding into US bond markets in search of safe haven. This will drive the dollar up and could impact the timetable for an impending FED [Federal Reserve] rate rise."
On Tuesday, eurozone finance ministers convened in Brussels for a Eurogroup meeting to find solutions to settle the ongoing financial and social crisis in Greece.
The Greek government has been clashing for months with Brussels and its major money lenders in Paris and Berlin, who want Athens to increase taxes and cut welfare spending.
Greece's overall debt stands at about $350 billion, of which $270 billion is owed to the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and several eurozone countries.
