The refusal of the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, to attend a plenary session debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 4 April to discuss negotiations underway between Athens and its institutional creditors has greatly rankled MEPs across the political spectrum.
His refusal to attend, which was explained away by prior commitments, comes a few days after the Dutch finance minister's divisive and sexist comments. In an interview with the German daily newspaper FAZ at the end of March, he criticised the southern Eurozone countries for asking for solidarity from the countries of the North when they had “spent all the money on drink and women” (see EUROPE 11751).
The most virulent criticism came from Dijsselbloem's own political family and the political groups on the left of the political spectrum. “You can't have someone who says things like that at the head of the Eurogroup. He needs to be replaced”, said Italy's Gianni Pittella, leader of the S&D group in Parliament. Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NGL, Germany), said that condemnation of Dijsselbloem in Parliament was unanimous, as he had committed a double fault: he made a racist and sexist comment, then reneged on his promise to attend the debate in Parliament. The co-chair of the Greens/EFA group, Germany's Ska Keller, said that the Eurogroup President's absence from the hemicycle on Tuesday betrayed his contempt for Parliament.
On the same day, however, Dijsselbloem attempted to play down his comments to the German conservative press, in response to a letter of criticism from the MEPs signed by the president of the EP, Antonio Tajani.
"It was unfortunate that my comments were linked to the southern countries, because that is not what I said and it was absolutely not my intention to offend anyone", he said in a letter published on the website of the Council of the EU. Apologising for any offence his words may have caused, he stressed that they applied to all Eurozone countries, including his own.
Dijsselbloem went on to try to put things right: “the agreed framework is crucial for confidence in the Eurozone, both in the outside world and between member states. For solidarity between the member states, which I value very much, it is crucial that we all show commitment and responsibility”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Pascal Hansens)