Informal European Council Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Informal European Council

Kelvin Hopkins Excerpts
Tuesday 31st January 2012

(12 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Kelvin Hopkins Portrait Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)
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In the last few days, the Greek Government have said that they refuse to have their economic governance taken over by the European Union. Does the Prime Minister support the Greeks in that, and if so, will he say so here and now?

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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The only way I can answer that question is to say that the Greeks have to decide themselves whether they want to stay in the euro. If they do, they have clearly got to meet some pretty exacting targets for reducing Government deficit, reducing Government debt and accepting a very austere approach. If Greece wants to stay in the euro, those are the conditions it will have to meet. I am not Greek; I am British. We have made our decision to stay out of the euro; this is their decision, and we should not tell them what to do.