Greece is (very) complicated (Dombrovskis)
(BRUSSELS2) For the European institutions, the fate of Greece after the referendum "is complicated"... Valdis Dombrovskis, the Vice-President in charge of the Euro and Social Dialogue, repeated it in all tones , to each of the questions that journalists asked him during the daily press conference held at the Berlaymont. Now it's room for negotiation in a way. " Everyone must meet around a table. (...) If everyone works well, it is possible to find a solution even in this... complex context! »
It is complicated !
The former Latvian Prime Minister – who resigned the day after the Riga supermarket disaster (54 dead) (read: The Riga disaster. unnoticed) —, had been sent to the coal by Jean-Claude Juncker to clear the ground in front of the press. His cold, methodical speech, lacking any human warmth for the fate of the Greek citizens, could in no way overshadow what the President of the Commission could have done politically. He got away with it very well, saying nothing but "it's complicated". A bit like these 'facebook' profiles where the speakers to mark that they are no longer quite married, but do not want to appear still single, or even multi-single, display that, well, it's complicated. In fact, Valdis under very cold exterior, must have a lot of humor and wanted to send a subliminal message to journalists. We are on the verge of separation...
No complicates everything
“The European Commission takes note of the outcome of yesterday's referendum in Greece. We respect the democratic choice of the Greek people he clarified. This was the only concession to the democratic vote. Because V. Dombrovskis immediately tried to challenge the validity of the referendum “ La question asked in the referendum was not correct. Because it was based on a project that was not approved by the Eurogroup. And it wasn't the last version. The sole basis of the referendum was political. » And to add that the 'No' vote did not that weaken the position of the Hellenic government ". Because « the 'no' unfortunately widens the gap between Greece and other eurozone countries.
A lot of lost time, the fault of Tsipras...
“Too much time and too many opportunities have been lost” then clarified Valdis Dombrovskis, a little bitter. « Europe has always been at the side of the Greek people during the crisis. European taxpayers have offered unprecedented financial assistance. Since 2010, €184 million has been disbursed from the Greece Loan Facility and the European Financial Stability Facility he clarified.
More « Reforms were often delayed or only partially implemented, leading to a prolonged recession and more difficult reforms to implement later. Only eight months ago, Greece finally turned the page, thehe economy was growing, investment was beginning to pick up, and jobs were once again being created. The country was close to returning to the markets and ending its bailout program late last year. Unfortunately, the current Greek government has not been able to use the (programme) extension to produce a credible strategy to exit this crisis, regain financial stability and return to economic growth. »
The place of Greece in Europe... but in the Euro Zone
The Commission is ready to use all means within our mandate,” he added. “One thing is clear. Greece's place is in Europe. » On the other hand, he refused to answer precisely whether Greece still had a future in the Euro Zone. “The result of the referendum obviously complicated things” he said B2 asked him the question. " From there, we must choose the path to follow, to develop a clear plan, regain financial stability, return to economic growth, and also respond to social concerns. »
No new program without Eurogroup mandate
This is the other leitmotif of theEuropean executive. “The Commission is ready to continue working with Greece. But to be clear, the Commission cannot negotiate a new program without a mandate from the Eurogroup. » etc. And " Yesterday's result marks a rejection of reforms proposed, to a large extent, by the Greek authorities themselves, and linked to a now expired support package for Greece. »
Debt restructuring: it's complicated!
As for debt restructuring…” it is complicated. the Eurogroup announced in 2012 a debate on this subject once the FSEF program was completed. Unfortunately, the FSEF program has not been completed, it remains in abeyance, not finished. Therefore this offer is no longer relevant, like the entire program. We need to resume discussions. ". In recent discussions, we had seen that the euro zone countries were ready to look into Greece's indebtedness and the cost of servicing the debt. (But) it is up to the Eurogroup to decide on the mandate of the European Commission and to decide whether or not the question of the debt should be dealt with. »
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
