Statements by&nbsp;Danuta Maria H&Uuml;BNER (EPP,PL),&nbsp;Maria ARENA (S&amp;D,BE) and Helmut SCHOLZ (GUE/NGL,DE) on the result of the elections in Greece, in the EP in Brussels.

Brussels

EU - Greece (T)

statement

HÜBNER, Danuta Maria (EPP, PL)

ARENA, Maria (S&D, BE)

Result of the elections in Greece: MEPS statements

SOUNDBITE (English), Danuta Maria H&#220;BNER (EPP, PL), "This terrible cloud of populism which has been growing since 2012 I think, it now must be gone. And I think that the politics still matter but I think now there is also economics to do. He will have to cope with sterilising a very dysfunctional administration at all levels, for the capacity to deliver on reforms, to do the reforms, to bring the change, this is an important factor and he will have to cope with it very clearly, which was not the case I think, so far. But also I think he, especially with Mr.VAROUFAKIS, you would have thought in the past that their mission was rather to change Europe, than to change Greece. Now, there's no doubt, Europe has to change, we will have to do what belongs to us, but Greece must also change."

SOUNDBITE (English), Danuta Maria H&#220;BNER (EPP, PL), "We all know what Madame LAGARDE said, what seems to be the formal condition for t he IMF, but leaving that aside, even though one should take it seriously, I think we are clearly seeing today that debt is growing, that if we do not have some form of restructuring, or reprofiling, you can say whatever you think of it, you call it in differnet ways in Europe, but we need something of that. Maybe as Mrs.MERKEL said recently, maybe not on the interest rate but in terms of extending the first payment towards a longer period,over a longer period, that's probably the way to go."

SOUNDBITE (French), Marie ARENA (S&amp;D, BE), "I think that the message by TSIPRAS is an important message, it was courageous to have done it, that is to say today to Europe that the austerity policy has not worked. It is was the IMF says, it is what the OECD says, it is what Greece says, but Europe wouldn't hear of it. It was important to be able to send out this message, it is not the only country that says it, we are also saying it, that is to say that there must be a policy of boosting. But the austerity policies, in the way that they have been carried out in Greece, that is to say in an absolutely radical manner which has put Greece in a significant state of poverty couldn't continue any longer."

SOUNDBITE (French), Marie ARENA (S&amp;D, BE), "I think we have to be very attentive as to what will happen with the Greek debt. Of course we want that Greece puts in place programmes that will allow them to return to growth, it is important. But at the same time it has to be avoided that the repayment of its debt slows down these steps. I sincerely think that we have to give Greece time to get back up, to be able to put its systems back in place. For instance, its tax administration, to ensure income and in order to make it function better. It shouldn't be that the Greek debt policy destroys the efforts that are being made in Greece. So we have to be flexible,and above all solidary when it comes to the situation in Greece."

SOUNDBITE (English), Helmut SCHOLZ (GUE/NGL, DE), <p>"He has to fight bureaucracy, he has to open chances to developing a strategy for the economic development of Greece in a way that they adapt. The crisis could be in the long term a period to give the Greek citizens a chance both to repay the credit they got, and at the same time to restart a selfstanding economic development. That means he has to raise the taxes, he has to introduce a tax system, he has to control that the administration stuff at all levels of the country is able to fulfil the normal tasks they have to fulfill. What has never been introduced in a persuading way by the governments beforehand."</p>

SOUNDBITE (English), Helmut SCHOLZ (GUE/NGL, DE), "The 86 billion are going again for other purposes than for the restructuring of the Greek economy, so he is even missing that. Even the IMF is deeply convinced that if there is not a renegotiation of the debt at all, Greece will never will be able to repay this money, so I guess he has to increase the awareness of his partners in the EU institutions to share a common understanding about that."