Juncker rebukes Greek government for mis-stating EU proposals
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered an angry rebuke to the Greek government on Tuesday and accused it of misleading voters about proposals he had made to help solve the country’s debt crisis.
“I don’t care about the Greek government, I do care about the Greek people,” he said noting that many “are suffering more than others in the European Union” from efforts to reduce debts.
“The debate in Greece and outside Greece would be easier if the Greek government would tell exactly what the Commission … is really proposing. I am blaming the Greeks (for telling) things to the Greek public which are not consistent with what I’ve told the Greek prime minister.”
Juncker, who has lately criticised Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras after making strenuous efforts to befriend the novice left-wing premier, said that the Commission was not in favour of raising value-added tax on medicines and electricity and had suggested other ways to improve the Greek budget, including by making a “modest cut” in defence spending.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tsipras said Commission proposals would add 10 percentage points to VAT on electricity. His health minister has said he did not want to raise VAT on medicines. [Reuters]
