Yanis Varoufakis: Solving sovereign debt needs a fresh approach

There are ways in which debt could be sensibly restructured without any cost to taxpayers and in a manner that brings Europeans closer together, writes former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis

Greece’s public debt has been put back on Europe’s agenda. Indeed, this was perhaps the Greek government’s main achievement during its agonising five-month standoff with its creditors.

After years of ‘extend and pretend’, today almost everyone agrees that debt restructuring is essential. Most important, this is true not just for Greece.