This is going to be an evaluation, not a condemnation”, stresses Othmar Karas, Vice President of the European Parliament, who will lead the parliamentary inquiry into the work of the troika in Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Ireland. He will do this job jointly with a French socialist. The Parliament calls for stronger parliamentary control of the emissaries of the donors in the bailed-out countries and will produce a report and propose changes to the functioning of the Troika. “The aim is a constructive proposal to increase transparency, democratic legitimacy and Parliament’s scrutiny”, Karas said.
“It must be clear, that this is not the place for populist and ideological accusations. The Troika must be kept out of party-politics”, stresses Parliament’s Vice President. “The Problem with the Troika is that it is basically an interim solution, because it is an instrument of collaboration of the donor countries outside EU structures. The Troika needs to become a community instrument which is accountable to the European Parliament”, said Karas.
As Parliament’s rapporteur Karas will lead the parliamentary inquiry, negotiate the proposals for improvement within the Parliament and compose the final report. “The way the emissaries of the donors impose reform and austerity measures is unclear so far. It can’t happen that all decisions are taken by civil servants only”, explains Karas. “If the European Parliament had been more involved in the decisions, the minimum salary in Greece would probably not have been decreased”, said the MEP.
The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament will start working on this report in its meeting on 5 November. The report is planned to be finished before the European elections in May 2014. (Press Release via EURACTIV)
PS If Otmar Karas would need some specific examples of how the Troika demolishes our Greek lives, I would be more than glad to help. 🙂
Its about time!
The Troika has become a fixed feature in Europe with no democratic accountability or oversight. Let’s hope these 2 do a decent job and not a whitewash.