Following the approval of the bailout deal for Greece by all national Parliaments involved, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Gianni Pittella, has called for the full and direct involvement of the EU Parliament in reviewing the correct implementation of the loan agreement with Athens.
Mr Pittella said:
"Thanks to the strong and constant diplomatic action put in place by Socialist and Democratic forces, all national Parliaments involved in the process finally voted in favour of the bailout programme for Greece. Now the European Parliament must be fully and directly involved in the review process over the correct implementation of the loan agreement. It is also vital that the social and economic situation in Greece is taken into account when assessing the implementation."
"Giving Parliament this role would turn the page from the Troika to a new democratic and Community based approach, greatly strengthening the political legitimacy of this and future agreements. The European Parliament is the only EU institution with a direct popular mandate and could act as the guarantor of the democratic accountability of important agreements not only for a single Member State but for Europe as a whole."
