Brussels, 07/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - In Lisbon on Tuesday 7 January, the head of the European Parliament delegation investigating the work of the troika, Othmar Karas (EPP, Austria), said that Portugal would be able to exit its aid programme on 17 May 2014, just before the European elections.
The Austrian, who is EP co-rapporteur on the work of the troika with French Socialist Liêm Hoang Ngoc, was speaking after a one-and-a-half day inspection in Portugal, where the MEPs has met a number of Portuguese officials, including the former prime minister José Socrates, the governor of the Portuguese central bank and current Portuguese secretary of state for finance, Maria Luisa Albuquerque.
Karas said he was certain that Portugal could exit the programme on 17 May 2014, a week ahead of the European elections. He said people were now better prepared for dealing with the problems arising from the crisis than they were in the past. Portugal is officially scheduled to exit the aid programme in June, but is looking into the option of having a precautionary credit line to help it return to the markets, but Karas said that the country was showing signs of economic recovery. Recognising the many sacrifices that have been demanded of Portugal, the rapporteur said there isn't a one-size-fits-all remedy and a balance has to be struck between budget consolidation, structural reforms and measures to boost growth and jobs.
This first visit by the EP delegation to a country in receipt of aid (they will be in Cyprus at the end of the week, in Ireland on 16 and 17 January and in Greece later in January, according to Karas' spokesman) comes amidst controversy about the EP's role in bailout programmes. The MEPs seem largely to agree on the need for greater transparency in the work of the troika, but a source says that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said earlier in the week that he did not want the EP to have a greater role in the process. In Greece at the weekend, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos called for the EP to have a greater role. Othmar Karas argues for co-decision.
The inspections of countries in receipt of aid are part of a longer-term process, which will be accompanied by hearings of major players, like the European Commission, the ECB and ESM director Klaus Regling. The EP's recommendations will be voted upon in March or April. The MEPs have not yet set a date for their assessment visit to Greece. It was initially planned for this week, but Daniel Köster, Karas' spokesman, explained that it has been postponed, partly for timetabling reasons and partly for other reasons, and will take place later in the month.
Karas was accompanied to Lisbon by MEPs Diogo Feio, José Manuel Fernandes, Elisa Ferreira, Ana Gomes, Marisa Matias, Nuno Melo, Liêm Hoang Ngoc, Nils Torvalds and Jürgen Klute. (SP/transl.fl)