"We owe Greece for saving the Euro" - Maragall
Press release from EFA MEP Ernest Maragall (Catalonia)
As the Greek parliament approves the first raft of new laws ordered by the Eurozone as a pre-requisite for a third bailout, Greens/EFA MEP Ernest Maragall has said that Europe is now indebted to Greece for saving the single currency.
Mr Maragall – a member of the European Parliament's Budgets Committee – argues that Europe is now obliged to help Greece in its hour of need.
Ernest Maragall said:
"Greeks will pay a high price to keep the Euro alive. We owe them a lot!
"Today the Greek Parliament approved the first laws ordered by the Eurozone for a third bail-out; had they not, then the door to Grexit was open.
"It's unclear what's worse for Greece, Grexit or a bail-out under the extreme conditions imposed. But for the Eurozone, it's clear that Grexit would have colossal costs and could signal the beginning of the end of the euro. So Greeks are paying a very high price for all of us and we owe them a great deal.
"Or should we really accept that guaranteed loans means solidarity?! How far can we go with these euphemisms and twisted language?
"Behind the present Greek crisis is a mainstream resistance to accept that the Eurozone peripheral debt is the joint result of an incomplete euro design and the wrong policies adopted later. It is not the exclusive fault of the debtors. That's why our very obligation to the Greeks and the rest of Europe is a swift advance in EU economic governance able to avoid a new Greek crisis and to return Greece to the path of sustainable growth and jobs she urgently needs.
"Let's put people first. Let's secure our future instead of choking it with past debts."
