Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2015-02-11-Speech-3-045-000"
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"en.20150211.8.3-045-000"2
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"Mr President, having listened to the debate this morning, it is clear to me that there are very few people in this room who understand, or dare to admit, the significance of the moment that we have reached. In the wake of the historic Greek elections, there are big questions, not just about the future of the euro area but actually about the future of the European project itself.
There is a great game of poker taking place for the future of this currency. On the one hand we have the EU institutions. Now however much my warnings over the years may have upset people, when I said that the EU would crush and kill and destroy nation-state democracy, I think the behaviour by the key players since the Greek elections justifies everything I have said.
We heard the German Finance Minister, Mr Schäuble, saying that elections change nothing and Mr Juncker – who is not here today, which is disappointing – ought to be hanging his head in shame or perhaps he is busy getting his euros out of Greece, I have no idea. Mr Juncker said that there can be no democratic choice against the European Treaties.
So there it is, folks. It does not matter how you vote. It does not matter what government you elect, these Treaties are designed to be there forever and agreements by previous governments bind parliaments that come for years and years afterwards. What it means is that the European project is, in fact, the very antithesis of the democratic principle. I think these comments, frankly, are disgusting. I guess we are all asking the question of who will blink first.
On the other side, we have got this new, radical left-wing Greek Government. I was not quite sure what to make of them until I saw last week, ambling up Downing Street, Yanis Varoufakis. There he was with his leather bomber jacket and his blue shirt hanging out of the front of his trousers, with his shaven head, hands in pockets, looking a bit like an off-duty nightclub bouncer. I am not normally a fan of Marxist academics, but having seen this fellow, I suspect that perhaps he is the real deal.
At least, I hope he is, because what is at stake – as is clear from the comments we have had from Germany and from people in this Chamber this morning – what is at stake is clear: do the Greek elections mean anything? Yes or no? I hope the Greeks stand firm, whatever the consequences. If they do, the free world will applaud them."@en1
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