The Greek Prime Minister, Andonis Samaras, attended a meeting with the
President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, before opening the
plenary session of Strasbourg on the priorities of the European Union
Presidency in these six months.
“I am addressing to you as Prime Minister of Greece, a country that faced more challenges than anyone else due to the crisis. My country suffered more than any other European Union member during these years. But I insist on the fact that Greece stood to its commitments and to its signature. We did not give up”, Samaras declared.
“It is true that nothing is perfect, but compared to what we have experienced in those difficult moments in my office, there has been a clear improvement and failure has been avoided. We opposed all bad voices, saying that Europe does not serve for anything”, declared then Joseph Daul, President of the Popular Parties of Europe.
“Now you are the Greek Presidency of the European Union, you can use the lessons you took in your country to reform the European Union. You are in the best position to say ‘No, don’t do this’ to your colleagues. Make a Banking Union, because you know the consequences of the absence of EU and the consequences of the union. My advise and request is to realize the Banking Union. This proposition that we have now, I’m sorry but is not what creates trust in the banking sector. And you know that the problem that Europe is facing today is the blocking of the transforming mechanism between banks and real economy”, declared Guy Verhofstadt, president of ALDE.
“We cannot accept the Banking Union. Not us and not most of the member countries. They were able to find an agreement, at last, and this agreement will not pass soon, because this parliament, as we have heard from strong voices of the main political groupings so far, will not accept the Banking Union as the agreement says. We néed radical changes for this Banking Union”, declared Hannes Swoboda, President of the Social Democratic.
While the European Parliament expects Greece to create the Banking Union by changing the December Council agreement, Prime Minister Samaras gave priority to employment and structural, social, economic and maritime reforms, as he mentioned the enlargement as part of the foreign challenges of the European Union.
Prepared by: Arta Tozaj
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