There will be no more memorandums for Greece. That was the message sent by European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici at the European Progressive Forum.
“Greece has gone through a lot since the dramatic days in the spring of 2010 and the turmoil in the summer of 2015,” Moscovici said, adding: “I have worked very well with Alexis Tsipras and Euclid Tsakalotos in the last few years. Open communication lines are decisive for taking the process forward every time we suffered setbacks or delays due to the many hurdles in our way. And we did manage to overcome these hurdles together. We all know how harsh these last few years were for the Greek people, whose huge sacrifices are now bearing fruit.”
“The next few months are the last part of the era of memorandums which began eight years ago in the spring of 2010. There is only one final review left that must be completed before the programme ends in the summer. I believe it will go as smoothly as the third review on the condition that all the partners preserve the good constructive climate of recent months,” the Commissioner said.
Moscovici noted that Greece will once again become a normal European country from an economic point of view. “Greece’s economic policies will be monitored through the coordinating process we call the European Semester. Since several of the programme’s commitments will continue to be implemented a long time after completion of the programme, there should be a proper type of surveillance after the programme. But let us be clear: there will be no more memorandums and on the preconditions that responsible fiscal policies will be adopted in the future, there will be no more need for austerity policies”.
