Brussels, 05/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The desire of the Greek government not to have to deal any longer with the 'troika' (European Commission, ECB and IMF), which represents the institutional creditors of Greece to Athens, has come up against strong resistance.
The presence of the three financial institutions to monitor the state of progress of the reforms recommended in the framework of the Greek bailout plan is “vital”, the Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs and Taxation, Pierre Moscovici, stated on Thursday 5 February. He added that following his interview with the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, in Berlin on Monday, he could confirm that “in the view of certain member states and the European Commission, the presence of the IMF is necessary”.
In Berlin on Wednesday, where he met his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis, Schäuble made it quite clear that Greece should resume negotiations with the troika (see other article).
The Juncker Commission has undertaken to make proposals to remedy the lack of democratic legitimacy surrounding the activities of the troika, an ad hoc entity set up in the emergency situation in 2010 to monitor the bailout plans of eurozone countries. A change to the treaty instituting the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), with votes in the national parliaments which so require it, appears necessary to make any changes to the procedures. There is nothing new about this debate: “We have already said that changes were needed”, Moscovici stressed. (MB)