Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-05-05-Speech-3-405"
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"en.20100505.73.3-405"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we must, of course, provide assistance to Greece. However, the so-called rescue operation also has some absurd elements. With France and Germany acting like great powers, the process of reaching a decision on the assistance package was very expensive and protracted.
For years, the financial markets have been increasingly deregulated and now everyone is surprised that it is expensive. Who will now pay the price for the political errors? The workers, ordinary citizens? Banks are not being placed under any obligation. No, once again it is the taxpayers who are to pick up the tab and dig deep in their pockets to pay for the profiteering of the banks. Once again, dependent workers are to have to accept pay cuts. With the dictates from the International Monetary Fund, any semblance of a democratic decision-making process has been eliminated.
In the case of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, application of the polluter-pays principle has been called for. I believe that is right. Anyone who digs for money or gold should also be responsible for the damage in cases of doubt. At the moment – at least in Germany – banks do not even have to pay back the debts that they have taken on and with which they are happily speculating against the euro – yes, against the euro. Furthermore, they are still speculating, even though we have been saying for a long time that something needs to be done about this.
Proposals for what could be done are on the table. A ban on trading credit derivatives and on short selling, the introduction of a financial market transaction tax, special levies on bonuses in the financial sector, a legally binding bank and insurance levy – all of these proposals are on the table. Of course, Greece must also do its homework. Like other countries of the European Union, Greece should also tax wealth, combat corruption and reduce its arms expenditure. Mr Cohn-Bendit has already spoken very convincingly about this. I will therefore omit the facts in this regard and endorse what he said in his speech.
I can understand people in Athens going out into the streets and protesting. What I cannot understand is the violence. I agree with everyone who has expressed sympathy for the victims, whose suffering is most regrettable. Violence will achieve the opposite of what the protesters and honest demonstrators want. We must call for an end to the violence."@en1
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