Brussels, 27/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - The members of the European Parliament (EP) have made a list of 29 questions regarding the work of the troika (European Commission, ECB and IMF) in the countries under financial assistance: Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus. These questions were sent, on Friday of last week, to the various stakeholders who will have three weeks to reply. In theory, a report is to be submitted on 17 December and will be based on the responses of the 18 recipients.
The European Parliament had warned that it wants answers about the work of the troika, which it feels is opaque and lacks democratic legitimacy. Austria's Othmar Karas (EPP), co-rapporteur, on Wednesday morning stressed that it was not a question of hanging anybody out to dry. “With this report, we want to present concrete proposals to increase the transparency, democratic legitimacy and parliamentarian scrutiny of the troika in the future”, he said. The 29 questions were sent to the leaders of the three institutions of the troika, the president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, and of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, as well as to the commissioner in charge of the euro, Olli Rehn. Nine questions, mainly taken from this list, were also sent to all of the heads of government, finance ministers and central bank governors of the countries in question, making 18 people in all. The economic committee of the EP, which is leading the investigation, also intends to carry out public hearings but, due to timing issues, it is not yet clear whether the missions on the ground will take place. It is possible that Jean-Claude Juncker, Jeroen Dijsselbloem's predecessor, will be invited to the public hearings, together with certain figures who were in position at the time of the negotiations on concluding the aid plans.
The list of 29 questions to the institutional trio, of which EUROPE has had sight, concerns firstly the design and adoption of the economic adjustment programmes and, secondly, how these programmes work. The range is a broad one: what was the role of each of the institutions, what methodology was used for the public debt projections, how much flexibility did the states have in deciding on the necessary measures, who was responsible for the final decision on these measures, what was the Eurogroup's involvement, have there been cases in which certain measures adopted run counter to particular laws in force, what is the impact of the entry into force last May of the regulation on reinforcing budgetary surveillance, etc. The national authorities have been asked to describe the quality of cooperation with the troika. It is hoped that a plenary vote on the report will be held in March. (EL/transl.fl)