European Commissioner for Monetary and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici described the Greek program of fiscal adjustment as a ‘democratic scandal’. In an interview to Italian newspaper Corriere dela Sera, Pierre Moscovici replied to a journalist question: “Why do you say that the program for Greece is a “democratic scandal”?
“It is a scandal with regards to democratic procedures, not with regards to the decisions themselves. But to decide in such a way about the fate of people, to impose in detail decisions about pensions, about the labor market… I speak about the basic details of the life in a country that have been decided by an organization behind closed doors, plans that have been worked out by technocrats without the minimum control of a parliament. Without that the media really know what it has been said, without fixed criteria or common guidelines”
The interview was given on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, over the weekend.
In his speech at the Forum, Pierre Moscovici criticized among others the way the Eurogroup operates and urged for democracy and transparency in decision-making structures that will help the euro zone.
“But I am convinced that the euro area will only have a truly bright future if we address three burning political issues: the lack of democracy in its decision-making structures; the need to ensure that a future European Monetary Fund is successfully built on democratic principles; and the economic and social divergences creating a dangerous political divide between countries.
The problem is a structural one. We are talking about decisions that are first prepared by officials – in almost complete opacity– and then taken by Ministers behind closed doors, often after very limited discussions,and with no formal rules. Unlike in a normal Council formation, the European Commission does not have the prerogatives in the Eurogroup to promote and advance the general interest of the euro area as a whole. Major decisions are taken on national budgets and reforms and no one is – or feels – accountable for these decisions to the European Parliament.
I would go so far as to say that this flaw in the governance of EMU is a democratic deficit, and sometimes in the past, when we look at Greece, it has been close to a democratic scandal.
As you can gather from what I have already said, I believe that our Economic and Monetary Union requires a quantum leap forward on the institutional front to fix this political vacuum. We cannot go on having the main decision-making forum for the euro area detached from the most basic democratic standards, as enshrined in the Community method.
Reforming the euro area’s governance is also a prerequisite for increased solidarity. Any strengthening of EU powers must be reflected in a more democratic euro area.”
I supposed, Moscovici has been thinking all the time that the Greek adjustment programs was implemented and enforced by aliens. It looks as if the European Commissioner just stood at the many Eurogroup sessions watching stunned and speechless how the little mean creatures from outer space designed the future of every Greek child, man, woman and senior down to last detail and the imposed their evil plans to the country as a whole.
