ANA-MPA — The Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament on Thursday announced its decision to seek a meeting with Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem to “explain the unacceptable decision to suspend the debt relief measures to Greece.”
They also urged the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “to step up on the Greek situation,” an S&D Group press release said.
According to S&D Group Vice-President Udo Bullmann, the decision to stop short-term debt relief to Greece was a measure that was “wrong and unjustified“.
“We believe that Greece has made a lot of sacrifices and that the economic conditions of the bailout agreement have been more than fulfilled. We would like the Parliament to invite Dijsselbloem to explain this decision in an extraordinary Conference of Presidents as soon as possible. Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission should also contribute to assessing the empiric situation in Greece,” he said.
S&D Group spokeswoman on economic and monetary affairs Pervenche Berès pointed out that “nobody in the Eurogroup can decide to reverse a decision without even consulting all the euro area finance ministers.”
“Social policies cannot be taken hostage for the negotiations on debt relief. The European Parliament needs to have its say,” she added.
“By how we behave toward Greece, we determine the future of the European Union. Whether you like it or not. It is about lives in Greece and the EU. Whether you like it or not. It is an issue of joint solidarity. And it is not permitted for some individual gentlemen, whether they are called Schaeuble or something else, to behave in this way, wanting to expose the Greek government and denying us the possibility for action that we have to build the European Union together,”the leader of the Green Group said during the debate.
EU commissioner Pierre Moscovici, European Parliament president Martin Schultz, French president Hollande and finance minister Michel Sapin, have echoed support for Greece and prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s decision to give a one-time relief package to low-income pensioners.
