The Eurogroup’s handling of Greece’s bailout programme was a scandal in terms of democratic processes, Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici insisted in an interview with Corriere della Sera.
After eight years of crisis and tough austerity-driven policies, the French Commissioner admitted that the Eurogroup’s decisions “behind closed doors” on the Greek bailout was a scandal in terms of democratic processes.
In June, the much-awaited second assessment of Greece’s third bailout was successfully concluded. On Tuesday, 5 September, Moscovici will meet Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos in order to start the negotiations on the third evaluation.
“It is a scandal in terms of democratic processes, not because the decisions were scandalous, but because by deciding in this way the fate of a nation, imposing detailed decisions on pensions, the labour market,” Moscovici told Corriere della Sera.
Moscovici also criticised the Eurogroup’s structure, hinting that the decisions made by technocrats are not transparent and accountable to any parliament.
“I am talking about the basic details of the life of a country which were decided in a body, behind closed doors, whose work is being prepared by technocrats without the minimum control of a parliament. Without the media really knowing what is being said, without stable criteria or a common guideline,” the EU official emphasised.
