Brussels, 22/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's week of debate about economic governance ended on Wednesday 22 January with a speech by Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, who said that the priorities of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU were growth and jobs.
Stournaras said that small and medium-sized enterprises were the backbone of the European economy, but were the hardest hit by the banks' reluctance to lend, thus preventing the economic crisis from coming to an end. He recommended what was set out in the European summit's conclusions in December, namely to make the most of other ways of companies getting access to finance, while ensuring the EU's financial stability by bringing banking union on board.
The minister welcomed the success of the European Semester, political monitoring of member states' budgets at European level, noting that the Greek Presidency would be making use of the guidelines and tools provided by the European Commission, like the report on the surveillance mechanism for macroeconomic imbalances. He said that the deepening of economic and monetary union would be to everyone's benefit, and mentioned the “contractual arrangements” that are causing clashes at the Council of Ministers. Under these contracts, eurozone nations would sign a document with Europe in which they pledge to carry out structural reforms of their public finances in return for financial aid.
On the democratic legitimacy of the troika of lenders (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) and its work in countries in receipt of aid, Stournaras said that the Commission should report to the European Commission on the work of the troika. (EL/transl.fl)