Dimitrios Papadimoulis Multimedia

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Interview with European Parliament's Vice President, as well as GUE/NGL & SYRIZA MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis to Vasileios Katsardis about the new European Union Commission

"Mr. Cameron continues Thatcher’s policy: "Give me my money back" although according to the rules he is required to finance the Community budget with 2.1 billion Euros. I hope that the Union’s elite will not do him that favour as their predecessors did to Thatcher. Mr. Cameron is pushed to the right-hand-side by the populist far-right anti-immigrant rhetoric of Mr. Farage, and so Cameron is playing a right-wing game I would say, in respect to the structure of the European Union. The opposite is needed - Europe should finally get a legitimate immigration policy, as the US, Australia and Canada have, because studies say that during the next few years Europe will need millions of new minds and pairs of hands. Europe is aging and its economy needs them."

Papadimoulis Dijsselbloem ECON Committee about the Greek government list https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W_WbXtQSsc - for English subtitles press CC on the youtube video • Dim. Papadimoulis: "The new Greek Government is very serious and very stable - it has the support of 80% of Greeks – there is absolutely no risk for a Grexit». • Jeroen Dijsselbloem: "Regarding primary surplus, we will come back during the four month extension, which will allow the new Greek government to fulfill its obligations." • Jeroen Dijsselbloem: "If the economic conditions reveal that there is margin, the budgetary targets may be adjusted." Speech by Dim. Papadimoulis on the Committee of Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Council and response from the President of the Eurogroup, Geroun Ntaiselmploum. The Vice-President of the European Parliament and MEP of SYRIZA, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, spoke today on behalf of GUE/NGL, at the meeting of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) in the European Parliament and asked questions to the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem on the discussion about Economic and Monetary Affairs, where the issue of Greece and its "list" of reforms was dominating. The full text of the speech of Dim. Papadimoulis and the relative response of Jeroen Dijsselbloem follows: Dim. Papadimoulis: "Mr. Dijsselbloem I welcome you to the European Parliament. Just now I read the comment of the European Commission regarding the list of reforms that was filed on time by the Greek Government. It is described as "sufficiently comprehensive" and adds that the European Commission is particularly encouraged by the strong commitment of the new Greek Government to combat fraud and corruption. Do you agree with this comment, since you personally have already seen it? I would like to reassure both fellow German Christian Democrats and British Conservatives that the new Greek Government is very serious and very stable. It has the support of 80% of the Greek citizens according to all the polls as far as the discussions that are taking place, and Greek citizens support with 80% the participation in the eurozone and there is absolutely no risk for a Grexit. I would like to ask you two things, Mr. Dijsselbloem. First: According to the Eurogroup decision on November 27, 2012, which you also mentioned, the Eurogroup is committed since the Greek State Budget has primary surpluses, to take additional measures for decreasing the Greek debt – without of course burdening any more the European taxpayers. There are related proposals from the Bruegel Institute that have been filled. When does the Eurogroup plan to discuss and implement, in cooperation with the Greek authorities, such measures? And the second: You know very well that the ending program caused 25% recession in the Greek economy and a huge humanitarian crisis. Over 25% unemployment, 2,500,000 Greeks live below the poverty line, 9 out of 10 Greeks unemployed don’t receive a cent of unemployment allowance... In the statement on Friday, you have noted "adequate primary surpluses." The new Greek Government wants primary surpluses, wants neat public finances, but has requested for a realistic downwards readjustment, of the primary surpluses agreed by the previous government, of the unrealistic 3% and 4.5%. When do you plan to give a specific definition of the word "appropriate" ("appropriate primary surpluses") specific, in order to enhance a dynamic development of the Greek economy? Jeroen Dijsselbloem: "Thank you for your questions. First of all you asked me whether I share the Commisions positive assessment of the Greek first list. I can’t at this point. Because the right order is for the three institutions to provide us with some advice first and if all three of them are positive we will have a conference call later this afternoon among the ministers to be informed by that and hopefully to be supportive. Then we can continue the process, which I think is crucial, I think we should start it; this is just a first step as I said. It’s no more than a first list and a lot of work has to be done. Then you asked about the dealing with debt sustainability and referred to the November 12 agreement Eurogroup statement. It strikes me that whenever people refer to it they only take out one of the criteria that is actually in that statement. And that’s not going to happen. There were a number of criteria. First of all it said that the Eurogroup could consider if necessary, which has to do with the question is the debt sustainable in 2020 and 2022, further measures to deal with debt sustainability, on the criteria that Greece has a primary surplus, Greece fulfilling all the commitments in the program, which of course has not happened yet. I think those were the exact words. So the Eurogroup will consider if necessary, in other words if debt sustainability once again is jeopardized, if Greece fulfils all the commitments and the program is concluded successfully, which requires a fifth review to be concluded. Then we mentioned a couple of possibilities in terms of what kind of measures we could take. So please if you refer to that statement, use the whole statement and not just one of the criteria. So we will come back to that issue, on the basis of the four month extension, if that is going to be agreed. That will allow the new Greek Government to fulfill its commitments, then we can finalize the whole program period, we can make a new debt sustainability analysis and then we’ll see whether it’s necessary and what further measures if necessary we can take. I think that was your questions". Dim. Papadimoulis: "I asked you for the primary surplus". Jeroen Dijsselbloem: "But here again you must read the statement in full, it says the "appropriate" primary surplus, referring again to the November 2012 statement. In November 2012 we came to an agreement that was basically an adjustment of the second program and it was on the basis of a rising number for primary surpluses as you know 1,5% last year, 3% this year, 4,5% next year. Now whether that is still reasonable and appropriate, we will have to see later on. The Greek economy has had a set back at the end of last year and we’ll have to see how the economy evolves over the first half of this year, then it’s up to the commission first of all, to see whether the fiscal targets and the timelines, the increase in primary surplus is still accessible, is still possible giving the economic circumstances. But that is quite a different thing from a government saying we now will no longer respect this targets. That cannot be done unilaterally. So in other words if economic circumstances so require, fiscal targets can be adjusted in programs and have been adjusted in the past. But it cannot be a unilateral decision of the government involved to say "we are no longer committed to these targets" and that’s not the way it can work".

• Papadimoulis: "We do not want to dissolve the Eurozone - our program has nothing in common with the extreme right"

• "Six years now we are trying the Berlin recipe; it is high time we turn to development. votes of the Greek citizens on January 25th can be a starting point for a positive shift for Europe".

The Vice President of the European Parliament and MEP of SYRIZA, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, spoke today on behalf of GUE/NGL, for the Conclusions of the European Council meeting(18 December 2014). After his speech he replied to a question of David Coburn (UKIP MEP of Mr. Farage), on whether Greece should leave the euro.

– For subtitles press CC on the video

Below is the transcript:


Dim. Papadimoulis: "Mr. Tusk, welcome to the European Parliament, but I honestly do not understand why you and Mr Juncker, who just left for the Council of the 18th of December are celebrating. Yes, you finished with it very soon, but what exactly did you decide in it? You simply exchanged wishes "Merry Christmas" and "Happy new year". What did you decide on the participation of member states in the European investment package? Will you join? With which amounts? Under what criteria will investments be allocated?And will they go where there is the most disinvestment, recession and unemployment? Or will it be "business as usual"?

Do you know that in December the Eurozone had negative inflation - deflation? Do you know that all Nobel awarded economists note the risk of deflation and a new recession cycle? Do you know that the world economy considers the Eurozone as its weakest link? Do you know that in those years, from 2009 until today, poverty, unemployment and inequalities have increased within Europe and the Eurozone, between North and South, between rich and poor, between rich regions and the southern?

 

Until when will the European Central Bank look to reassure the objections and blackmails of the Bundesbank and will not be functioning as the European Central Bank of all Member States by buying government debt, promoting quantitative easing?

Where are the new, fresh resources, which will succeed to implement the "package Juncker" -or the "fund" call it what you like, Mr. Verhofstadt? No one believes that leverage 1:15 can be achieved in this Europe of stagnation and deflation. Only Jesus Christ has achieved such wonders and Jean-Claude Juncker is not Jesus Christ.More people are beginning to say that we have to finally be done with this dogmatic, one-sided austerity that brings recession, unemployment, poverty, and disinvestment. Six years now we are trying the Berlin recipe; it is high time we turn to development. Towards a "New Deal" that will bring jobs, recovery of the social state, in conditions of a welfare state.

In a few days, we are voting in my country, Greece, and the votes of the Greek citizens on January 25th can be a starting point for a positive shift for a Europe of democracy, social, with jobs, with development. My party, SYRIZA, does not want to break up Europe, but to restore Greece as a fair, democratic, member state of the Eurozone, with growth, jobs, and a welfare State. Thank you.

Martin Schulz: "Mr Papadimoulis, I think we all agree that Mr Juncker is not Jesus Christ! Anybody has any doubts about this? No. You have a blue card for questioning by MP David Coburn, agree? Good."

Dim. Papadimoulis: "Thank you, Mr Coburn for the question. That is the main agenda of Mr Farage and Mrs Le Pen. Apply it, if your voters will let you, in your countries. We want neither to destroy the Eurozone nor for Greece to abandon the EU. We want Greece, as a member of the European Union and the Eurozone, to have no unemployment, no poverty, to develop, and for the rich to be paying, not the poor. Because in Greece ship-owners pay four times less tax than their crews do. That’s the program of SYRIZA and it has nothing in common with the ultra-right-wing".

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