On Wednesday 14 December, many MEPs had very tough words for the IMF and European Commission, which are reportedly opposed to the full restoration of collective agreements in Greece. This subject is one of the elements blocking the finalisation of the second mission of the third Greek bailout plan (see EUROPE 11673).
"The situation in Greece does not comply with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, nor with the agreements of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)", Agnes Jongerius (S&D, Netherlands) stated. She does not believe Greece's obligations as part of the third bailout plan should make "a legal no man's land" of the country. While Europe asks Bangladesh to have effective collective agreements in order to be able to negotiate a trade deal with this country, why isn't it be the same for Greece, asked Dimitris Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Greece), refusing that his compatriots should be considered second-class citizens. On behalf of the Greens/EFA Group, Philippe Lamberts from Belgium denounced Athens' creditors for advocating "destruction" measures in Greek collective agreements. "He who sows neo-liberal globalisation, sows national populism!", he said. Pervenche Berès (S&D, France) said she was "very shocked" that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had told the European Parliament's employment and social affairs committee that the European Charter of Fundamental Right does not apply to Greece. "He can't have double standards", she said, reiterating the ILO's position in support of the full recovery of collective agreements in Greece.
On behalf of the EPP Group, Burkhard Balz from Germany by contrast advocated "flexible" rules for the Greek labour market, which are right, in his opinion for fighting unemployment. "Returning to a centralised system for authorising redundancies is not the solution", he said.
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said that Greece and its creditors had set up an experts' group to work on labour reform in Greece. He called for a reform that finds the right balance "between flexibility and protection". Workers' rights and the autonomy of the social partners should be defended in the collective agreement negotiations, he said, while noting that the experts' group was divided on the issue of collective agreements. The European Commission has still not drawn any final conclusions on the basis of the experts' report. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)