Debt negotiations should not take place behind closed doors, Tsipras tells MEPs

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made an impassioned defence of his country's position to the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Speaking for the first time at an EP plenary session in his role as Prime Minister, Tsipras said: "I think the debate we are having today in this Chamber should have taken place much earlier. For five months, the negotiations on the future of Greece were held behind closed doors. The European Parliament, instrument par excellence of democracy, must play a more active role in this respect," he said.

In the wake of two emergency meetings in Brussels, following the 'No' vote in Sunday's referendum, the Greek Prime Minister offered a political dimension to the Greek question while also attempting to appease his government's critics. "Until now, we have been obliged to talk to three institutions whose positions were sometimes different and conflicting. Frankly, if the debate were taking place exclusively between the Greek government and the European Commission, we would not be here today," he said during a long debate.

"I have no hidden agenda to take Greece out of the Eurozone. My country became a field trial for austerity, but we must now look reality in the face: it failed! Europe must be democratic or it will be very difficult to survive the difficult times we are going through," Tsipras insisted.

"What we usually call the Greek crisis is actually a European crisis in our inability to find a solution to the debt," he continued. "We want to find an honorable compromise. We are all aware of the issues and are all ready to face up to our historical responsibilities. But we want a sustainable program to allow us to repay the debt and not be forced into borrowing forever," he argued.

"The current Greek government took office five and a half months ago; the bailouts started five years ago. The issues we face do not spring from just these past five months," he stated. "We filed a 47-page text, the result of a difficult process of negotiation. Yet an image has been created that Greece had not made any proposals. We submitted a request to the European solidarity mechanism and we will refine our proposals in the next two days. But these proposals must also lead to a commitment to find a lasting solution to the debt," continued Tsipras.

The Prime Minister emphasized in his speech several times about the need to "find a solution in the interests of Greece but also in the interests of Europe." He also raised the issue of German debt after the Second World War by stating that "the greatest moment of European solidarity was the London Conference in 1953 when European countries decided to cancel 60% of Germany's debt."

"Fighting against the reign of the oligarchies and cartels, fighting fraud and tax evasion, modernizing government, these are all our priorities. For this, we need the support of our European partners," he concluded. Endit