Porto, 01/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Portuguese MEP Nuno Melo is a member of the EPP and belongs to the CDS-PP party which forms part of the current coalition government in Portugal. At the summer university of EPP think tank, European Ideas Network in Oporto on 27 and 28 June, at the same time as the trade unions were organising the fourth general strike across the country, Melo, who is hoping to be a candidate in the European elections in 2014, talked about the “failings” of the Portuguese programme and what the country expects from the European Union. (SP/transl.fl)
Agence Europe (AE) - Do you think Portugal is doing better after two years of the international aid programme?
Nuno Melo (NM) - I think the price to be paid by the Portuguese is far too high and is no longer socially acceptable. The Portuguese have made incredible efforts, following everything that the memorandum recommended to the letter, yet today we see that not all the forecasts made by the troika are being achieved: unemployment is rising much faster than expected, growth is not returning as fast as people wanted and public debt is still rising. We have to recognise that the programme is not working.
I think it should be adjusted as quickly as possible to match the situation on the ground. The problem is not in Portugal itself. Today, it isn't just a clash of two clans with the “poor” countries in the south facing the more robust countries in the north. Nine countries are in recession, including France. And Germany, which is so powerful, is also seeing its economic engine slowing down. The problem is much bigger and the EU and IMF should provide better answers.
While it is important for the necessary structural reforms to continue and for states to continue to cut spending, there is a cruel lack of measures able to boost the economy, competitiveness and jobs. The leaders at national and European level simply have to take such measures.
(AE) - Austerity is not the right answer. Is there a “Merkel problem” at the moment?
(MN) - The people who say that are totally wrong. There is a huge problem with communication. Angela Merkel is at the helm of a single country. The rest of the member states are “managed” by the Council and the European Commission. Saying that everything is decided by Germany amounts to saying that the European institutions, Council and European Parliament, are weak or non-existent. I think above all that Mrs Merkel, like any other political leader, is addressing her electors first and foremost. That is understandable. But I think that in Germany, people have started to understand that the recession is a problem for everyone, because Germany needs 26 strong countries around it, just as Europe needs a robust Germany. It works both ways.
(AE) - Is the eurozone crisis behind us, as François Hollande says?
(MN) - It is totally absurd and worrying to hear that said by someone who leads a big country like France. You can't say that when we're still bang in the middle of the crisis.
(AE) - Will Portugal need a second aid programme?
(MN) - I hope not and it would be a true failure if that had to happen in 2015. At this stage, I don't think that we'll need one, but everything can certainly change in two years. Particularly because the country has had more than a decade of bad policy, of errors. Not all the necessary structural measures have been done yet, but we also need to create better conditions, for example for exports.
Broadly speaking, every country will have to find its feet in the single currency. We can't have some countries that want a strong euro and others hoping that it won't be so strong. These are all areas where work is needed. Something else that is very important is quality with non-EU partners in foreign trade. The EU cannot impose strict standards on itself and then accept products that have been inspected far less and cost much less. All this has to enter the equation and once again, it is clear that the solution is not in the hands of Portugal alone.
(AE) - How will the Portuguese vote in the European elections?
(MN) - All I can say is that in 2009, the issues in the European elections were almost exclusively national. This time round, it is clear that European, particularly the action of the country's lenders, will be the main concern. The Portuguese feel that something is not right - they have followed the demands to the letter and have made all the required efforts, but didn't get the expected outcomes in return. The campaign will clearly focus on these concerns.