Relationship dossier
Germany
Greece
Relationship assessment
European cooperation alongside disputes over wartime reparations and the Greek debt crisis
Germany toward Greece
+15Germany participated in euro-area financial assistance for Greece during the debt crisis, with conditions that became a source of serious dispute. Germany has also maintained that the question of reparations for Nazi occupation has been legally settled.
Greece toward Germany
+5Greece has pursued reparations from Germany for the Nazi occupation, including through a 2019 parliamentary resolution calling for the issue to be raised with the German government. The demand remains a bilateral point of contention.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship is embedded in European Union and euro-area cooperation, including financial assistance to Greece, but this cooperation has been accompanied by disputes over debt-crisis conditions and unresolved Greek reparations demands. The combination of institutional cooperation and persistent historical and economic tensions supports a broadly cooperative but qualified assessment.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Germany and Greece cooperate within European institutions, including through euro-area financial assistance, while the handling of Greece’s debt crisis generated substantial disagreement. The legacy of Nazi occupation remains a bilateral point of contention: Greece has sought reparations, while Germany considers the matter legally settled. These disputes coexist with ongoing government-level cooperation.
Areas of tension
- Greek demands for reparations and compensation for Nazi occupation; Germany considers the matter legally settled.
- Disputes over the conditions attached to euro-area financial assistance during Greece’s debt crisis.
Key developments
Greece’s parliament adopted a resolution calling for the government to pursue German reparations for the Nazi occupation.
Germany participated in euro-area financial assistance programs for Greece during the debt crisis; their conditions were contentious.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of current bilateral cooperation beyond European Union and euro-area frameworks is unclear.
- The scope and practical effect of the 1960 German-Greek compensation agreement remain contested.