Former ECB President Truchet on Greek Economy+: Jobless must not pay for Insiders !...

*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- Almost agreing with the incoming EU Chairman-in-office for 2014, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' famous Formula about  "acting in favor of the Unemployed People and in order to redress Injustices", as he has repeatedly stressed, both to Journalists in Brussels, including "EuroFora", during the latest December 2013 EU Summit, (Comp. various "EuroFora"s NewsReports from that Brussels' Summit), as well as later-on, duringa joint Press Conference with EU Commission's President Baroso at the beginning of January in Athens, (etc),  he experienced and Historic ECB President, Jean-Claude Truchet, a French Socialist, launched a call for Poor People not to pay with harder Sacrifices than those who are well off, particularly at the State sector, as he said, stressing that this is "essential" : 

He was speaking at EU Parliament's Economic Committee, earlier Today, in one among a series of Hearings organized by the 2 Co-Rapporteurs on the controversial issue of IMF/ECB/EUCommission "Troika"s role in EU Countries under Program Aid, vice-President Othmar Karas from Austria (EPP) and Socialdemocrat MEP Liêm Hoang Ngoc from France, (see his statements to "EuroFora" infra). 

   -"On Greece, I would simply say : Continue to ReStructure the State !", he stressed from the outset.

 - "Because the problem of the way that the State functions in Greece, .... "...is something absolutely Essential !", Truchet underlined.

This concerns i.e., not only, but "both the non-perceived Taxes, and the Structural Reforms in general, I'm speaking, mainly, about the Civil Service", he explained.
(I.e. the notorious problem of the surnumerary, often counter-productive Cushy Job holders and/or abusive or even corrupted Political Lackeys, scandalously appointed during the 1981-2011 Years which provoked that Huge Debt, by former Clientelist/Nepotist Governments, mainly of PASOK+ : Comp. relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReports from December 2009 at Bonn, Germany, until recently),
   
- F.ex. "Greece had a -16% Deficit in Current Accounts (Foreign Trade), and it has to arrive from -16% to  0% : That's a Huge Effort, there is no doubt about it !". And Greece "really does that principal Effort, from a Quantitative point of view, but not yet in Qualitative terms".

  - "Given from where it started, I think that " the Main Problem (as I've already said) is that Efforts must not be done exclusively by the "Outsiders"',  Truchet stressed.

    - "This is true for Greece, as well as for any other Country". F.ex. "when you find a Country where there are too many Jobless Young People, this practically means that those who already have a Job are too much protected, while, on the contrary, there is not enough care (we don't care enough) for those who don't have a job" (i.e. the Unemployed), he criticized, as a matter of general principle.   

                                                                                                                                                                                           
- "Otherwise, we wouldn't have all that enormous Difference between the Insiders and the Outsiders",

=> "This is an absolutely Major Problem ! ", Truchet stressed. "We don't have always to undertake all those adjustments" that some did. "But, if it ever occurs, =>  "I think that this is an Essential Problem".

    - "Even for those Countries which didn't have to do any Major Adjustment". + "I consider it to be Abominable to have in Europe Countries where there is not a big difference in Unemployment between those who are Young, and those who are less, (i.e. Aged Workers), but also other Countries, where there is such a Huge Difference""It's ourselves that we are provoking that : It's our Rules, the lack of Structural Reforms, etc", he added.

- "This is an Essential Problem", the experienced and Historic ECB's President reiterated  in Conclusion.
-----------------

    This was the main thrust of Truchet's reply to a question raised by experienced Greek MEP Rodi Kratsa, who had mainly pointed at the fact that, despite recent Progress made by Greece with several *converging Economic achievements, (See f.ex. EU Commissioner Rehn's reply to another Kratsa's question, yesterday : ....), nevertheless, the problem raised by the fact that the remaining Debt was still too heavy compared to the Country's c urrent GDP, while also productive Businesses often complain of the lack of accessible Loans, on equal terms as in other Program Countries, which are needed in order to develop production and Growth. Therefore, she had asked for his advise about what he believes that should be done for a better solution.

    While some might think that Truchet would have avoided to reoky to those concrete points raised by Kratsa, in fact, it seems more likely that he gave, indirectly but surely, an answer also to that : Simply because, without all those surnumerary, counterproductive and often unpopular civil servants, scandaloysly appointed by Clientelist/Nepotist former Governmenrts since 1981-2011+, Greece wouldn't have neither any problem of excessive State Debt, (since it wouldn't have to still pay all those Salaries, Pensions, etc)

------------------------
    The move was added to a previous observation by Truchet, about the fact that the main cause of the problems faced in certain European Countries during the Global Crisis, was particularly due too their inobservance of the "Stability and Growth Pact"'s conditions in the Past , in addition also to issues of lost Competitiveness.

    F.ex., already back on "2007-2008", "in the previous years, Public Sector Salaries had been augmented, in some EU Countries, up to + 117%, and in the average about + 35%, while  in Germany it was just +25%  : We should have avoided that !", he denounced.

--------------------------------
+ General €uroZone issue : Bridge the Competitiveness' Gap !
-------------------------------------------------------------------

    + Referring earlier to all €uroZone Countries in general, Truchet stressed that, already "since 2005", it had started to become obvious that growing and big Differences in Competitiveness were emerging fast, almost everywhere between various European Countries, even just before the Global Crisis, which had started initially in the USA, i.e. with an America epicentre, while it arrived afterwards in Europe, where its epicenter moved later-on, so that something had to be done in order to  bridge such Gaps.

    => Speaking later with "EuroFora", Truchet, agreed that, indeed, he remembered also the relevant Fact that (as we reminded) even the IMF had issued, during the 1st ECB Summit for the 10th Anniversary of the €uro, back on 2008 in Frankfurt, (where "EuroFora"s co-Founder had participated in Press Conferences, etc), its Report for Europe, which mainly  denounced the fact that Fragmentation and Division of €uroArea between various levels of classical Economy, with huge Competitiveness and/or Productivity Gaps, could prove to be one of he biggest modern problems, warning the EU that it'd better try to resolve it..

------------------------------------

    + Replying to an "EuroFora"'s question on Truchet's observation, EU Parliament's co-Rapporteur on the "Troika", French Socialist MEP Liem Hoang Ngoc, preferred denounce the fact that "... considering what Reforms Greece has done in the Work Market, it should have become now one of the most Competitive EU Countries !", as he said, smiling.. .

    He made it, however, clear, that, by saying that, he focused mainly on the Private Sector's Job Market, and not at all on the Greek State/Public Sector's Employees....
-------------------------------------