International

Things have been extremely tense both in The Hague and in Brussels: Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager would at last tell us what would happen if Greece really did go bankrupt or even walked out of the Eurozone. More than a year ago I was already asking the European Commission for this information, but at the time their view was that these were ‘not options’. So De Jager could have been, even for parliamentarians in Brussels, a unique source of information. But it was not to be: the Minister is prepared to inform Members of Parliament, but only behind closed doors. This would be fitting in a dictatorship, but not in the democracy that the Netherlands is supposed to be.

I expect to hear tomorrow from Ewout Irrgang, our MP and financial specialist in The Hague, that he is forbidden from sharing the information with anyone at all, including Euro-MPs. So the European Parliament will probably yet again be deprived of essential information. Still worse – the public will also not be informed. This surely is no longer democracy, is it? You’re spending taxpayers’ money, but with no accountability whatsoever - and all because the information in question could lead to disquiet on the stock markets. Obviously such unrest is of more importance than the disquiet felt by so many ordinary people. In my view, this is nothing but the politics of the back room.

It has long been evident that as a result of the overly rapid introduction of the euro and the admission into the Eurozone of member states which were too weak economically, we are now faced with a gigantic eurocrisis. Every possible scenario seems to offer a pessimistic, melancholy prospect. Throw good money after bad, into a bottomless pit? Or allow Greece to go bankrupt? Or will Greece leave the Eurozone, followed more than likely by other weaker members? Not a single scenario pans out well. But as citizens and as elected representatives we have the right to know how bad all of this could become. Existing uncertainty is even worse for ordinary people than is the - undoubtedly bad - news itself. So, Mr De Jager, just give us this information and don’t for once kowtow to the stock exchanges and financial markets.

Europe is failing on another point, too. Whatever may happen, it’s obvious that southern Europe will never be able to put things to rights if the rampant corruption in the region is not dealt with. Little by little it is becoming clear that something like a Marshall plan will be needed for the structural improvement of these economies. But such a plan would make absolutely no sense if the money involved were to disappear into the pockets of corrupt officials. That’s why last week I asked Commissioner Malmström whether she had a ‘master plan’ for combating corruption in Greece and other weaker Eurozone countries. No such thing exists. Only in 2013 will the Commission present its proposals. Just as no adequate measures have been taken against speculators. It would be a fine thing if Brussels would just once do what it should be doing. This would also leave it less time to stick its nose into all of those things which are better regulated at the national level.