Greece

Debate between Marcus Fysh and George Osborne

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I do not want to go into the private discussions we had, but we said very publicly that both sides needed to reach a compromise. We did not say that this was exclusively a challenge to the Greek Government; we said that the eurozone also needed to work towards a compromise. I think it is fair to reflect on the fact that the reason we are having this statement and the reason there are capital controls and the like is the unilateral decision by the Greek Government on Friday. We respect the vote in the Greek Parliament, and of course we will respect the decision of the Greek people, but that was the change in the dynamic that happened over the past three days.

[Marcus Fysh (Yeovil) (Con)]

In order to recover, Greece needs bigger debt relief than is currently on the table and massive pro-market structural reform and support. Neither the EU, the international institutions, nor Syriza currently offer those things. This problem presents serious ongoing economic and strategic risks for us in Europe and beyond. What are our Government doing to ensure that Greece gets what it needs?