EC President Juncker wants to prevent a Grexit

USPA NEWS - In his speech in the European Parliament ahead of the Euro summit, President Juncker made the case for negotiations with Greece to resume and warned of a Europe in which European nations stop talking to each-other.

Shortly after the Greek referendum and ahead of this Tuesday Euro summit, President Juncker spoke in the European Parliament about the need to resume negotiations with Greece and prevent a “˜Grexit´. In his speech, in which he thanked the outgoing Latvian presidency of the Council for its excellent work and high level of ambition, he made the following points on Greece.

“The ball is most definitely in the court of the Greek government“ which now has to explain how it intends to move forward following the outcome of the referendum in Greece, Juncker said. EC President stressed the readiness of the Commission to play a constructive role and help the process: “The European Commission for its part is ready to do everything to get to an agreement within an acceptable timeframe,“ he added.

With regards to his expectations ahead of tonight´s Euro Summit, President Juncker said that “we will sit down tonight and will try to get things going without rhetorical side-effects so that we can get to an agreeable solution. The Commission would like to know what the “˜no´ vote means, because I am told it's not a “˜no´ to Europe, and I am told it's not a “˜no´ to the euro. It cannot be a “˜no´ to the proposals by the institutions, because they were no longer on the table.“

Finally, President Juncker reiterated his strong determination to keep Greece firmly anchored in the Eurozone: “My aim is to prevent Grexit. I am against Grexit," he said. Immediately after the referendum in Greece on Sunday July 5, the Commission has published its reaction in a statement and President Juncker had a conference call among the “˜Euro-Institutionals´, with the President of the Euro Summit, the President of the Euro Group and the President of the European Central Bank, as well as numerous contacts with EU Heads of State and Government.

On Monday, Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the EC in charge of the Euro and Social Dialogue, stated that the place of Greece is and remains in Europe. He underlined that in order to solve this very difficult situation all sides need to work together responsibly for the sake of Greek people. Dombrovskis said that the Commission is ready to continue to work with Greece and made clear that the Commission cannot negotiate a new programme without a mandate from the Eurogroup.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will attend Wdnesday the European Parliament to discuss the situation in Greece and the conclusions of the European Council on 25 and 26 June and the euro summit. The presidents of the Council, Donald Tusk, and the Commission will also participate in the debate in plenary, which will begin around 9.30 in Strasbourg.