Criticism of Jeroen Dijsselbloem continued to pour in on Wednesday 22 March, following recent comments by the President of the Eurogroup in the German daily newspaper FAZ alleging that certain countries in the southern part of the Eurozone are asking for solidarity from the countries of the north after spending “all the money on drink and women”.
I find these comments “misguided”, both in form and substance, said the Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos, his former rival from the EPP political family in the race to the chairmanship of the Eurogroup, according to reports by El Pais. He said that he hoped Dijsselbloem would apologise, which the Dutch finance minister had not done as of Tuesday, in a discussion with the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the European Parliament.
Addressing the MEPs, the Eurogroup President stressed the importance of putting the concepts of solidarity and liability of the Eurozone countries on an equal footing.
“I think it's wrong”, said the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager. The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that he has “always expressed his respect, sympathy and even his love for Europe's southern flank”, according to Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas.
There were also strong words from the Dutch finance minister's own political camp. The Portuguese Foreign Minister, Augusto Santos Silva, said that as Dijsselbloem has no idea what really happened in the Eurozone countries that had had a bailout plan, he should simply step down. “There is no excuse or reason for using such language, especially from someone who is supposed to be a progressive. I truly wonder whether a person who has these beliefs can still be considered fit to be president of the Eurogroup”, said the chair of the S&D group at European Parliament, Italy's Gianni Pittella.
Dijsselbloem's statement came at a time when his future at the helm of the Eurogroup is particularly uncertain, following his party's routing in the Dutch general elections. They also coincide with the decision of the Eurozone countries to step up negotiations with Greece in Brussels on the reforms which the Greek government must undertake in order to secure a further tranche of financial aid in the framework of the third Greek bailout plan (see EUROPE 11749). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)