"We are reaching the limits of the current policies."
On April 22, EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso admitted that the policy of austerity pursued by the European Union no longer has the public backing that it needs to work. The European Green Party has welcomed this admission. "European austerity policies are not sustainable," says EGP Co-Chair Reinhard Bütikofer. "We have to correct the course."
EGP co-chair Reinhard Bütikofer
“The German government’s philosophy of austerity “über alles” has become ever more isolated in the EU. It is isolated in the G20. The idea of shrinking your way into growth is not only intellectually dishonest. It is a practical failure and socially irresponsible.
“Last year, the European summit agreed on a so-called growth deal. In reality, nothing much has transpired. Cynically, the exercise could be described as “putting new labels on empty jars”. The EU must unite against Merkel - and do better.
“Europe needs a growth strategy to exit the crisis. This growth strategy must not be built on profligate public spending. But, without a growth strategy the combination of austerity and reforms will become an unbearable burden that will tear apart the European social and democratic fabric.
“If the German Government was honest, it would concede that reforms which made the German economy more robust over the last decade were indeed not accompanied by excessive austerity. The German government should stop telling the rest of Europe: do as we say, not as we did.”
