The former PM Mr. Costas Simitis plans to discuss the current economic crisis and Memorandum signed by the Papandreou Government during his speech on January 23rd in Berlin. The conference is titled: “Greece in crisis. Prospects for the European path,” and is organizes by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Freïe Universität.
The political office of former prime minister Costas Simitis released excerpts from the speech Simitis will deliver at this conference.
“The agreement between the EMU and Greece over policies which must be implemented by Greece in order for it to be granted the last installment of the agreed loan, known as the memorandum, was drafted without adequate preparation and functioned in a way that exacerbated the situation. The authors of the Memorandum failed to attach goals to actual developments, i.e. predicting that if there is a recession, the timing of goals will automatically be extended. It was a politically fatal mistake”.
According to Mr. Simitis, the Greek problem was not a misfortune in the state of the Union, a diversion which overthrew a well-designed project; it was the catalyst that revealed the shortcomings of past economic governance, as well as the need for a restructuring of it.
Finally, Mr. Simitis will indicate that “solidarity is a term that is not liked in some EU countries. They suggest that a commitment to support from others who do not meet their obligations, implies a unilateral commitment. But things require collaboration and mutual support. In the dominant view of the EMU’s practice, the solution of problems concerning the levels of competitiveness between the north and the south requires mainly the promotion of changes in labor markets and structural reforms”.
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