Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, had subjugated to the Othman Empire from 1453 BCE until 1829, when it achieved independence eight years after Greek War of independence started. Greece subsequent history was "a narrative of debt, default, and external dependence, and experienced at least three major episodes of debt defaults in the period spanning from independence to the sovereign debt crisis in 2010.

In December 2016, the debt-stricken Greek government, led by Alexis Tsipras of the tiny radical left party, Syriza, announced the distribution of a sizeable "Christmas gift" to its low-income pensioners, a one-time bonus that would cost the government 617 million. This cost was in addition to suspending increase the value-added tax (VAT) on some Greek islands. These plans were in clear violation of terms of a bailout provided to Greece by Eurozone nations in 2015, which required Greece to implement austerity measures and achieved specific fiscal targets. Greece had already received two bailouts from the "Troika" the international Monetary Fund (IMF). The European Central Bank, and the European Commission one bailout in 2010 and the other in 2012.

In return, Greece committed to reduce its debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ration from 160 per cent in 2012 to 124 per cent by 2020. Yet by December 2016, Greece's debt to GDP ratio had shot up to 181 per cent. The bond spread between Greek and comparable German bonds was increasing, and Greece's sovereign bond had been relegated to junk status by credit rating agencies, so the county had little access to international capital markets and private funds. Greece's third bailout from the Eurozone was to be paid in tranches from 2015 to 2018, but payments were halted following Greece's announcement in December 2016. With bond payouts and loan payments due, Greece faces the spectre of a default and an exit from the Eurozone and its common currency, the Euro.

Supplemental materials : https://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/reports.do?node=1000004157

Refer to GREECE:

Table 1a Revenue, expenditure and deficit/surplus (as percentage of GDP), page 45

Table 2 Government debt (as a percentage of GDP), page 48

Based on Greek's case:

In Your opinion, what are the likely implications of the austerity measures sought by Eurozone nations?