Portuguese radicals have accused the EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker of “hypocrisy” and seeking to “continue to the policies of the Troika without the Troika.”
The leader of the European Commission said Wednesday that the “troika is undemocratic, it lacks legitimacy” and and it was time to learn “the lessons of history and not repeat the same mistakes.”
“We have sinned against the dignity of people, especially in Greece and Portugal and often in Ireland,” Jean-Claude Juncker stated, saying the IMF-ECB-EU ‘troika’ had made mistakes in the international bailouts in the Eurozone.
Despite the criticism the troika, Juncker called for continued spending cuts and neoliberal structural reforms to meet EU dictates, despite the devastation wrought across the Continent.
The Euroskeptic Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) – which surged forward to become the country’s third largest political force in last year’s European elections on the back of popular anger at home against the austerity measures contained in the Troika’s hated Memorandum of Understanding – was not impressed with the EU Commission chief’s “mea culpa”.
It said:
“The attack on the dignity of the Portuguese, Greek and Irish results from the application of so-called memoranda in their countries; it is not a mere matter of form, but the political content of such memoranda.
“These statements seek to deal with the widespread condemnation of their harmful actions by continuing the troika policies without the troika, since none of the EU policies have been questioned and it was even stated that the policy of ‘consolidation of public finances’ should continue.”
“Furthermore, what Juncker seems to suggest is that consideration should be given a troika to a quartet, with a more visible role for the Eurogroup [of Eurozone finance ministers].”
The Commission chief’s statements were ‘hypocritical,’ it continued, adding:
“As chairman of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker’s responsibilities in the troika intervention programs are well known.
“The PCP reaffirms that only patriotic, left alternative policies will break with the dictates of the European Union, promote economic and social development and progress, and stop the decline of our country.”
jornaldenegocios
PCP website
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