16th March 2014

MEPs call for a European Monetary Fund

In their continued effort to assess the work of the Troika (EC, ECB, IMF) in countries under programme, MEPs have called for a new institutional architecture. The undemocratic Troika, according to the MEPs as stated in a non-binding report, should be replaced by a democratically accountable European Monetary Fund. This is a long-term goal and needs revision of the Treaties, the MEPs concede. The existing Troika is an ad hoc body with no legal basis and is not subject to democratic scrutiny. The members often point fingers at one another in case of problems and, furthermore, there is a fourth player closely associated, that is the Eurogroup, itself being an informal body of the Council. The MEPs call for the European Council, the Council and the Eurogroup to assume full responsibility for the actions of the Troika. They call also for more transparent functioning of the evaluation group. The MEPs have further highlighted the social impact of the Troika actions. They state that not only markets, but also the people need to be taken into consideration when a programme is prepared. As Alejandro Cecras MEP stated, “economy should serve the people, not the other way around.”

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Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic