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Paul, Howard and Barry are right, we will never see that money back!
In the sense that when they return it, they will be asking for a higher loan to replace it. It will get worse all the time, the loans higher each time!
I have made some research the other day, and found that Britain is still more or less self-reliant on oil production. A lot is exported, but about the same amount is imported (probably to do with different qualities of oil and with the position of the installations in the North Sea). Britain is a net importer of gas, though.
However, most other countries in the EU import their oil and gas 100% or almost, and this may be one reason for their never being able to pull out of their state debits.
Germany's present dilema with keeping open or shutting down 40 year old nuclear plants is one example of how the energy problem weighs down on the budgets of EU countries.
I am fully in favour of prosperous economies in Europe as well as in Britain and Ireeland, and of cooperation, but the EU system is economically bankrupt, and leads to greater bankruptcy. Add to that the interference in internal affairs that have nothing to do with economy.
In the case of Portugal, there is no way the EU or the IMF will be able to introduce austerity measures that would enable that country to pay back the loans, because if they did, as Howard pointed out the people would be scaled down to having very little money to spend.
This alone would lead the Portuguese to ask for a referendum on the EU, so the EU will never require Portugal to repay that money, nor Greece.
As I said, the loans will be paid back in return for even higher loans!
