Varoufakis: Nationalism is the main reason why Greece has not recognized Kosovo so far
Express newspaper
03/05/2026 23:38
The head of MeRA25, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, spoke positive words about Kosovo on “Debat Plus”.
“Kosovo’s image in Greece has improved dramatically over the last two or three years.”
He says that Kosovo’s position in the clashes between Greece and North Macedonia also influenced this.
“This clash has set us back for decades, it has set Macedonians and the region back, so for me what is important is that we move away from meaningless conflicts,” he added.
He says that nationalism is one of the main reasons why Greece has not yet recognized the state of Kosovo.
He says that in Greece it is thought that if Kosovo is recognized, it “legitimizes” Northern Cyprus, which is a state recognized only by Turkey.
However, according to him, this approach is wrong and belongs to the past. He says that in Kosovo, in general, since 2005, there have been positive developments in financial policies.
But who is Yanis Varoufakis?
Yanis Varoufakis is one of the most influential Greek economists. Above all, he is a multifaceted person, as he is an economist, writer, blogger, professor and university lecturer. He trained as an economist at the University of Essex, where he earned his doctorate. He has taught at various universities such as: Cambridge, East Anglia, Glasgow, Sydney or the University of Athens.
In addition to his career as a professor, he entered the world of politics with the Greek party SYRIZA. With SYRIZA’s electoral victory, he was appointed Minister of Finance of the Greek government in 2015. However, he spent only a few months in power, as he resigned on July 6, 2015.
Throughout his career as an economist, Varoufakis has been involved in many debates about how economic crises have affected Europe, the euro, and the deep global financial crisis that occurred between 2008 and 2012.
During his time in the Greek government, he strongly opposed the austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund and European institutions. However, when Greek Prime Minister Tsipras accepted the demands imposed by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, he resigned as finance minister.