German MEP Knows Greece’s Recovery Plan, Greeks Not Yet

By Sarantis Michalopoulos

(EurActiv) — Greek MEP Petros Kokkalis has asked why a German EU lawmaker from the European People’s Party (EPP) has seen Greece’s draft recovery plan while Greeks themselves – except the government – have not seen anything yet.

“Fantastic news Markus Ferber. Just one question: how did you come across this document, when the Greek government has kept it secret from the Greek public?”, leftist MEP Kokkalis tweeted.

German EU lawmaker Markus Ferber (EPP-CSU) told Handelsblatt that Greece’s draft plan was “one of the best I’ve seen so far.”

Greece is expected to receive €32 billion from the EU Recovery Fund. The government has been in talks with the European Commission about its draft plan, but the opposition accuses the government of acting in secrecy, as no consultation with other parties has taken place so far.

Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said last week that member states’ plans must include a summary of consultations with stakeholders, such as local and regional authorities, social partners, civil society organisations or youth organisations.

Dombrovskis underlined that “it is not only about holding public consultations”, but also translating the proposals and contributions of the participants into the plans.