European Financial Stability Fund

11.12.2012

Question for written answer E-011302-12
to the Commission
Rule 117
Edite Estrela (S&D) , Vital Moreira (S&D) , Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (S&D) , Elisa Ferreira (S&D) , António Fernando Correia de Campos (S&D) , Luís Paulo Alves (S&D) , Ana Gomes (S&D)

At the Eurogroup meeting of 26 November 2012, it was decided that Greece would be granted more flexible terms of compliance with the economic adjustment programme.

At a press conference on 26 November 2012, the Eurogroup President, Jean-Claude Juncker said in relation to Greece that it had been decided months earlier, over a year ago, that the same rules had to be applied to the countries in the programme.

Following these declarations, the Portuguese Finance Minister, Vítor Gaspar, said on 27 November that ‘Portugal and Ireland, which both belong to the programme, will be able to benefit from the conditions made available within the framework of the European Financial Stability Mechanism, in line with the principle of equal treatment adopted by the euro area summit in July 2011’.

At the latest Eurogroup meeting on 3 December, its President Jean-Claude Juncker rejected the possibility of giving Portugal and Ireland equivalent treatment to Greece.

On the same day, the Portuguese Finance Minister, Vítor Gaspar, immediately contradicted his previous statements, rather unclearly, by saying that ‘oversimplification of complex issues inevitably leads to misunderstandings, which unfortunately tend to persist, to the point of being considered established truths’.

Economic and social conditions in Portugal are deteriorating on a daily basis as a result of the austerity measures, as is borne out by the rising unemployment rate (from 13.7 % to 16.3 % during the same period in 2012) and economic recession, which the OECD estimates will reach 1.8 % in 2013, almost twice the figure hoped for by the Portuguese Government and the Troika (1 %).

Can the Commission say whether Portugal will be able to benefit from the same conditions applied to Greece when it comes to using the European Financial Stability Fund? If not, why not?

OJ C 321 E, 07/11/2013