Pope Francis Urges EU Unity After Greek Row
March 24 2017 - 2:34PM
Dow Jones News
By Nektaria Stamouli
ROME -- Pope Francis told European Union leaders to work
together and withstand the temptation of "centrifugal forces," just
after last-minute demands by Greece risked spoiling the bloc's 60th
anniversary.
In an unprecedented move, the pope received the leaders of all
EU countries except the U.K. on the eve of celebrations marking 60
years since the signature of the bloc's founding treaty. Apart from
papal funerals, there has never been such a large number of
European leaders at the Vatican at the same time. The leaders were
accompanied by their spouses, including Luxembourg Prime Minister
Xavier Bettel's same-sex partner.
The pope said that at 60, the European Union "is called today to
examine itself, to care for the ailments that inevitably come with
age, and to find new ways to steer its course."
He spoke of "centrifugal impulses" and populism threatening the
bloc, as well as a "growing split" between citizens and European
institutions, "which are often perceived as distant and
inattentive."
But unlike his speech to the European Parliament in 2014, when
he compared the EU to a "grandmother" that was "no longer fertile
and vibrant," the pope said that the EU can regain "new
youthfulness" if leaders work together again.
The papal advice came just hours after the European Commission,
the bloc's executive, defused a fight with Greek Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras, who threatened spoil the Saturday celebrations if
the EU didn't back Greece in its latest dispute with international
creditors. The pope appeared to take more time to speak to Mr.
Tsipras than to other leaders during the ceremonial one-by-one
greeting.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said during a
meeting with trade union leaders in Rome that some of the social
rights acquired in Greece shouldn't be changed at the request of
the International Monetary Fund.
"We should not try to change Greek legislation when it comes to
strikes, " he said.
In a letter to Mr. Juncker and other top EU officials, Mr.
Tsipras backed down from earlier threats not to sign the Rome
Declaration -- a document aimed at projecting unity among the
bloc's 27 members in the face of U.K.'s departure -- unless there
is a statement from the EU that the bloc's rules on social rights
will also be safeguarded in Greece.
Greece's bailout has hit has an impasse over the IMF's demands
that Greece further deregulate its labor market, which Mr.
Tsipras's ruling left-wing Syriza party says goes against European
norms on worker protections.
"I ask for your support in order to protect, together, the right
of Greece to return to the standards of the European social model,"
Mr. Tsipras said.
Germany's government said Wednesday that it rejected any attempt
to link the Rome declaration with Greece's bailout talks.
Greece's eurozone creditors, led by Germany, want the IMF to
return to participating as a lender in Greece's bailout program
after a three-year hiatus. The IMF first wants Greece to sign up to
tough economic overhauls, including business-friendly deregulation
of the labor market.
Syriza, however, is seeking to restore the wage-bargaining
powers of Greek labor unions, which were relinquished as part of
Greece's repeated bailouts since 2010. The ideological clash over
labor rules is threatening to undermine progress toward economic
recovery in Greece.
Mr. Tsipras's office released his letter late on Thursday as the
latest negotiations between Greek finance officials and creditors
were winding up in Brussels. Greek and creditor officials said
there was progress but no agreement.
In a speech at the University of Rome earlier on Thursday, the
Greek leader attacked the EU for letting the IMF put pressure on
Greece for free-market policies that, he argued, went against
European values.
"The fact that EU does not defend its own achievements, its own
legacy, its own social model, the fact that EU has surrendered to
the IMF explains why Europe is facing an existential crisis today,"
Mr. Tsipras said.
--Francis X. Rocca in Rome contributed to this article.
Write to Nektaria Stamouli at nektaria.stamouli@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2017 14:19 ET (18:19 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.