EurActiv — Greece’s main opposition party, New Democracy, felt “surprised” when European Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip praised the Tsipras government on Thursday, for improvements it has made to the economy.
The conclusion of the second review of Greece’s third bailout has sparked intense controversy among politicians in Athens.
The government blames New Democracy for attempting to block it and claims that now that the official conclusion of the review is close the “snap election narrative” is over.
On the other hand, the opposition accuses the government of signing another bailout without borrowing additional money on top of the record amounts the country has borrowed since 2010.
“These have been challenging times for Greece and the country has done a lot. Today we see a noticeable trend of recovery for Greece, although a lot more work is still needed,” Ansip said , adding that the EU executive has stood by Greece through difficult moments.
“The Commission encourages the leadership of the country to stay on this course to achieve sustainable growth,” Ansip insisted.
This statement elicited sharp criticisms from New Democracy MP Anna Michel Asimakopoulou.
“We were surprised for your positive comments on the Greek economy performance, I just hope while you are here in Greece you will be able to see the reality at first hand,” Asimakopoulou said.
Syriza lawmakers reacted to her statement and then Ansip turned to his assistants asking what the controversy was about.
“I feel I do not have the full attention of the vice-president […] would you like me to speak in English?” she ironically asked Ansip switching into English.
Ansip is reported to have felt uncomfortable and did not answer back.
Asimakopoulou continued, saying that the Commissioner, who holds the Digital Economy portfolio, could not “congratulate” the government for performance on digital issues. “The country is lagging behind […] it ranked 26 in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI),” she noted.
Ansip replied that Greece had improved its performance last year by 8.6% and had the 4th best performance at EU level.
“It did not happen. Now, today, I am confident that we will go to the next step which is the successful completion of the review and a global agreement, which will put at last the Greek economy on track for solid and long-lasting growth because that is simply what the Greek people expect, what they need and that’s what they deserve,” Moscovici emphasised.
