If, for instance, this kind of debt relief was given in the beginning of the first adjustment programme, it would have had a more positive impact on the economy, possibly limiting output and employment losses. Last, but not least, the Stability and Growth Path (SGP) failed to avert the soaring public debt in the pre-crisis period.
Furthermore, there was no monitoring and control over macroeconomic imbalances, such as the evolution of the current account and the private debt. When the Greek crisis broke out in 2010, euro area crisis management and resolution tools were rather non-existent on account of moral hazard concerns and in the absence of the appropriate institutional setting.