Greek referendum decision understandable; clear EU plan for Greek economic recovery needed
PRESS
RELEASE – Brussels, 2 November 2011
Greek debt crisis
Greek referendum decision understandable; clear EU
plan for Greek economic recovery needed
Commenting
on the decision by Greek prime minister Papandreou to hold a referendum on the implementation
of the terms of the latest Greek bail out, Greens/EFA co-presidents Rebecca
Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit said:
“There is a considerable and growing lack of trust among Greek
citizens for the austerity measures being insisted on by the EU and the IMF.
However, a clear majority of Greek citizens want Greece to stay in the Euro.
Against this background and, given the opportunistic political point scoring by
the Greek opposition, the decision by Greek prime minister Papandreou to hold a
referendum is completely understandable.
“The outcome of this referendum will
clearly have far-reaching consequences. In order to ensure the outcome is in
the interests of Greek citizens and the rest of the EU, there is a need for EU
governments to rectify the clear flaws of the first phase of the Greek bail out
and the destructive downward cycle of austerity. Instead, there is a need to
set out a clear investment programme, which will help promote sustainable
economic recovery. While this has long been given lip-service at EU-level, it
must now be swiftly enacted. The European Commission should come forward with a
proposal as soon as possible with a view to it being adopted at the European
Council in December. This must be a central part of the agreement with Greece
on the next phase of the bail out, so that Greek citizens can be reassured that
their future in Europe is based on solidarity and stability when they come to
vote in the referendum.?
Foto: Papandreu aten la premsa després de parlar amb Sarkozy i Merkel. Font: Reuters