Az ülések szó szerinti jegyzőkönyve

2012. november 22., Csütörtök - Strasbourg

10. A Görögországgal kapcsolatos helyzet (a Bizottság nyilatkozata)

  Der Präsident. − Meine sehr geehrten Damen und Herren, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Die Kommission hat um das Wort gebeten, was nicht auf der Tagesordnung stand. Dies wird nur wenige Minuten in Anspruch nehmen. Da wir viele Abstimmungen haben, werden wir keine Aussprache durchführen.

  Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the Commission. − Mr President, honourable Members, with the agreement of the Presidency of the Parliament and the President of the Commission, I would like to make a statement on behalf of the Commission concerning the state of negotiations on Greece in order to inform you and to seek your political support to conclude the agreement, with a view to facilitating the next disbursement under the conditional financial programme for Greece.

At the beginning of this week, a staff level agreement was reached between the EU-IMF Troika and the Greek authorities. The long meeting of the Eurogroup, which lasted from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning, saw substantial progress towards an agreement on Greece, even if a definitive conclusion ultimately proved elusive this time. Importantly, the Eurogroup recognised that the Greek authorities have successfully implemented the full set of prior actions agreed with the EU and the IMF. This is the result of a very substantial and strong effort on the part of Greece.

In terms of structural reforms, important decisions have been taken to build a more effective and efficient tax administration. That is indeed crucial, because a fair sharing of the tax burden is a question not only of sound public finances, but equally of social justice.

So we should move beyond the myth that no progress has been made in Greece or by Greece. That perception is damaging and unfair. Honourable Members, Greece is delivering. Now it is time for Greece’s European and international partners to deliver their part of the agreement.

(Applause)

To do that, the euro area Member States need to agree to decide on a credible set of measures to restore Greece’s debt sustainability. The discussions on Tuesday night moved us very close to an agreement. In this context, we should be clear that this set of measures does not exclude the need to reassess the debt sustainability of Greece in the coming years, and it does not exclude taking further decisions as necessary in the light of future developments – depending, of course, on the full implementation of the reform programme by Greece.

To conclude, I trust that everyone will reconvene in Brussels next Monday with the necessary constructive spirit and move beyond the detrimental mindset of red lines. Frankly, I see no reason why we should not be able to conclude the package and do away with the uncertainty which has been holding back a return of confidence in Europe and of investment and growth in Greece.

Honourable Members, Europe stands by Greece. I can assure you that my services are working flat out to make this happen, and that the Commission will leave no stone unturned in order to facilitate this essential agreement for the European economy and for the Greek people.

(Loud applause)

  Der Präsident. − Vielen Dank, Herr Kommissar Rehn!