Parliament demands Greek oversight role

By Maia De La Baume

Verhofstadt proposal would enforce a 'comply and explain procedure' on reform progress.

Greece already has to answer to three institutional masters — the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank — as it struggles to stay solvent.

Now some politicians are pushing for the European Parliament to get involved, too.

Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the centrist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, is calling on European Parliament President Martin Schulz to find a way to give the assembly an oversight role, saying it could “strengthen the monitoring of Greek reforms.”

In an email sent this week to Schulz, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, Verhofstadt says the Parliament should set up an “exchange of views” every two months between Greek authorities and the creditor institutions to “report” on Greece’s implementation of the adjustment program.

Eurozone leaders agreed Monday after a marathon summit to move forward on a third Greek bailout package in return for a batch of reform measures, including pension cuts, tax hikes, and intensive international oversight. The requested assistance would be provided by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

Verhofstadt called on the ESM board to include in its Memorandum of Understanding for Greece a “comply and explain procedure” that “would oblige the Greek authorities to participate in an exchange of views in the competent committee of the European Parliament to report on their implementation of the adjustment program.”

Those sessions would take place, Verhofstadt proposed, “in a dedicated ESM Monitoring Committee” composed of members of several relevant parliamentary committees, as well as representatives from national parliaments.

Verhoftsadt also suggested that the European Parliament should adopt in plenary a resolution on the progress of the implementation of the program before the ESM Board of Governors decides to grant a further tranche of financial assistance to Greece.

A Parliament source said Verhofstadt would formally submit his proposals in September at the next Conference of Presidents, which includes other political group leaders and committee chairs.

The email from Verhofstadt was also sent to Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party group, and Gianni Pittella, head of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats. None of the recipients responded to requests for comment about it. 

The European Parliament is not one of Greece’s creditors, nor was it involved in the negotiations on the bailout. But its role moved to center stage last week when Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appeared in plenary session in Strasbourg to offer an impassioned plea for a “sustainable” solution to the Greek crisis. It was the first time a Greek premier has addressed the Parliament about the crisis. 

Parliament leaders like Verhoftsadt and Sylvie Goulard, another member of the ALDE group, have long pushed for more transparency on the Greek talks, which have often been held behind closed doors.

On Thursday, the issue of institutional oversight and transparency were part of a debate on Greece in the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee, in which several MEPs expressed their frustration that EU institutions had taken a back seat to national leaders in the debate on Greece.

“The whole story tells us how inefficient is the inter-governmental method,” said Roberto Gualtieri, an Italian member of the Socialists & Democrats group.

“The Commission took a much more secondary role and the EP couldn’t play the role which it deserves,” said Maria Joao Rodrigues, a Portuguese member of the Socialists & Democrats group.