While the murder of an anti-fascist hip-hop artist spread social unrest already brewing over austerity measures led to concern that Greece couldn’t handle the upcoming symbolic six-month rotating European Union Presidency on Jan. 1, the government has decided to go ahead but with a far smaller budget than earlier projected.
While it’s proceeding with plans transfer, suspend or fire up to 40,000 workers and is cutting money for health care, education and across the board except for Parliament, where workers are being protected and more are being hired, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ administration said it’s reduced the budget for the symbolic office, which is essentially powerless, in half and will spend 50 million euros ($65 million.) It wasn’t said on what.
Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulos told the House’s European Affairs Committee that the government would devote fewer resources to the EU presidency than other countries had done recently.
He said that in contrast to recent presidencies that required 60 to 75 million euros and up to 250 staff, Greece would spend less and use no more than 150 personnel. It wasn’t said what they would do.
It had been suggested by some Euro MPs this week, following the murder of musician Pavlos Fyssas by a Golden Dawn member, that Greece might not be a worthy candidate to hold the presidency.
PASOK MEP Anni Podimata told the committee that Fyssas’s murder had severely tarnished Greece’s image. “It is not an exaggeration to say that this case is more damaging than either Greece’s default or the falsification of statistics.”
While Greek MP’s are still bickering over how to control the neo-Nazis, Greeks in the European Parliament came together to submit together a question in the European Parliament asking about the effects of austerity in the EU.
The MEPs asked the European Commission and Council to explain what they’re doing about it although the European Parliament, like the EU Presidency, is virtually toothless.
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