European Central Bank President Mario Draghi responded to SYRIZA‘s European Parliament Member; Kostas Chrysogonas via an open letter, Chrysogonas had made claims about the ECB’s role in the Greek bailouts and posed questions about the “right to social security and the protection of a decent standard of living”.
“We certainly respect the rulings of the Greek Council of the State, Greece’s supreme administrative court. And it is of course the responsibility of the Greek authorities – not those of other EU Member States – to ensure sound policies which allow the Greek state to cover the fiscal costs of such rulings” Draghi writes
According to Draghi’s letter, the SYRIZA MP claimed that the ECB signed the second Greek memorandum and that it demanded a cut in Greeks pensions, two things that Draghi refutes.
“Over the last five years the Greek pension system has undergone significant reforms, in regards to both the main pension scheme and supplementary pensions. Full implementation of these reforms will improve the long-term sustainability of the pension system,” Draghi writes.
The ECB president claims the reforms of the new programme aim to increase fairness in the system and ensure that citizens pay for social security.
“The third programme envisages further reform of the pension system, which will improve the link between contributions and benefits, harmonise contribution rules across pension funds, incentivise work and contributions, and achieve further institutional consolidation. This should ensure an environment in which pension funds have adequate financial resources and all Greek citizens pay their fair share of social security contribution,” the letter concludes.
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