Euro MPs scrutinise Council accounts for 2010, MEP Othmar Karas attends UN General Assembly and Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras visits Parliament.

Council's cash / MEP in NYC / Greek crisis

Money and friendship rarely mix  and the EU institutions make no exception.

Since 2009, Parliament  has not granted discharge

to the annual budgets of the Council,  representing Member States' governments,

The row over roughly €500 million annually  is not helping inter-institutional relations,

so the EP's Budgetary Control Committee  organised a hearing with legal experts

Some members think that the answer  isn't all that difficult.

you look to the bank to tell you  if your money is safe there.

You don't look to the people who took loans  from the bank and do not return the money.

We put the money with the Commission.  It's the role of the Commission.

Harmoniously, the three main  EU institutions are taking part

in the opening of the annual  General Assembly of the United Nations.

A new EU office  was inaugurated in New York,

and while the President of the European  Council addressed the Assembly,

Parliament is represented  by Vice-President Othmar Karas.

For the first time, Parliament is part  of the official EU delegation.

I find this particularly important  because we have to work

towards a parlamentarisation  and democratisation

and we have to do it as a team –  the Commission, Council and Parliament.

but Greek opposition leader Alexis  Tsipras visited Parliament on Thursday

At a press conference, and against  the background of growing protests

Tsipras called for an international  debt conference for Greece,

modelled on the one held for Germany  after the Second World War.