Reuters — Several euro lawmakers called on Monday on Jeroen Dijsselbloem to resign as Eurogroup chairman after he declined to address the European Parliament, also criticising him for remarks interpreted as disparaging towards southern Europeans.
Dijsselbloem, who chairs the meetings of euro zone finance ministers, turned down parliament’s invitation to participate in a plenary debate on the Greek bailout programme scheduled for Tuesday.
The Dutchman, whose mandate ends in January, has previously declined to participate in plenary debates, but he is under pressure for other reasons since the Dutch general elections in March His party lost heavily and will be very likely left out of the new government coalition, leaving Dijsselbloem without a ministerial post.
The European Parliament said several MEPs had called on Dijsselbloem to resign and “stressed that a Eurogroup President must be accountable to representatives of the people affected by Eurogroup measures.”
A spokesman for Dijsselbloem declined to comment on the renewed criticism from the parliament.
