"The Greek people went to the polls in the midst of severe austerity measures, on which the IMF and Eurozone have insisted in return for emergency financial assistance, but which have plunged the country deeper into recession and imposed appalling social costs. Through their votes, the Greeks have shown that they want to stay in the eurozone and are ready to accept the necessary reforms. But the outcome of the election has also shown the strength and depth of support for revisiting the memorandum of understanding in the light of economic and social developments even more grave than the presumptions on which the memorandum was based. Across all boundaries of class and party, the Greek people want and need to see a renegotiation of some of the harsh terms and conditions of the rescue loans, as demanded by all the responsible political parties in Greece.

 

"The S&D Group believes that it is the job of the political leadership of the European Union – and yours in particular – to take the lead in finding an agreement with the new Greek government on a credible reform programme, since political and economic reforms are absolutely necessary and crucial. And in some domains, such as economic governance and the tax collection system, reform should be substantially accelerated.

 

"What we, Greece and Europe, need is a commonly defined and agreed European strategy for political and economic reform in order to boost growth and EU-wide employment, and to stimulate the modernisation of the European economy. To be effective, the strategy must include savings efforts and improvement of the efficiency and productivity of the public sector, but fiscal adjustment cannot be allowed to lead to a collapse of aggregate demand. Under no circumstances can fiscal adjustment rely only on spending cuts. There must be positive incentives for growth, including some relief from the squeezing of demand.

 

"In the framework of current discussions of fiscal union, and the implementation of the 6-Pack and the 2-Pack, a much more sensitive Commission approach towards national fiscal policy is needed. Our Group has shown, in our vote on the 2-pack, our support for fiscal discipline. But every effort for fiscal discipline will fail, and will sow the seeds of ever deeper problems for the European and global economies, unless it is matched by a powerful shift towards growth and employment in the Commission's supervision of national budgetary and macroeconomic policies. The European Union will not convince European citizens of the necessity or acceptability of fiscal union if it cannot demonstrate its ability to restore growth and jobs."
 

 

Head of Press and Communications

Spokesperson of the Group Leader

+ 32 2 284 37 44

+ 33 3 88 17 29 98

+ 32 473 85 34 07

Associated media

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