Juncker 'betrayed' by Greece's 'egotism'

The European Commission chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, has said he feels "betrayed" by the "egotism" showed by Greece in the failed debt talks.

Juncker 'betrayed' by Greece's 'egotism'

The European Commission chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, has said he feels "betrayed" by the "egotism" showed by Greece in the failed debt talks.

Mr Juncker said he did everything to facilitate an agreement, but Greek proposals were "delayed" or "deliberately altered".

[comment] Jean-Claude Juncker with Greek PM Alexis Tsipras.[/comment]

He was speaking after the breakdown of talks on Friday sparked a weekend of dramatic developments.

Greece called a surprise referendum and Greek banks are closed for a week.

In a clear message to the Greek people, Juncker said "a no vote would look [like] Greece wants to distance istself from the Eurozone.

"No would mean … that Greece is saying 'no' to Europe."

Appealing to the Greek people to defy the stance of their government – which he accused of failing to “tell the truth” about the package, he told a press conference: “I say to the Greek people – who I like deeply – one shouldn’t commit suicide for fear of dying.”

He went on: “I will never let the Greek people down, never.

“And I know that the Greek people don’t want to let down the European Union. Greece is a member of the European family and I want this family to stand together.

“This is not a game of liar’s poker. There is not a winner and a loser; either everyone wins or everyone loses.”

In a lengthy address, Mr Juncker said he felt personally and politically “a little betrayed” by the decision to abandon talks and call a national vote, accusing the Greek government of prioritising “egotism, tactical games, populist games”.

He insisted Brussels was not seeking wage or pension cuts and claimed it was the Commission, not Athens, which had often pushed during the negotiations for “the most socially-fair measures”.

“We went very far to achieve socially-fair measures that at the same time can support growth and the necessary fiscal consolidation and which take account of the requests of the Greek government,” he said.

“This is not a stupid austerity package. Some of the measures of course will hurt in the near term. But the package goes beyond fiscal measures and proposes a clear way forward.”

It involved 12 billion euro less in savings than a previous deal, he said, and public sector wage reduction was “never ever on the table”.

“In many instances we in the European Commission, had to be the ones insisting on the most socially-fair measures. I would have expected the Greek government to push this agenda in line with its campaign manifesto,” he said in one of a number of sharp attack on the Tsipras administration.

“It is time for Greece’s political leaders to shoulder their responsibility, to tell their people what is really at stake. That it will not be easy but necessary,” he said.

“They (the Greek people) have to know what is the truth. They have to know what is on the table.

“The Greek government knows all these elements and it would be advisable to the Greek government to tell the truth to the Greek people instead of simplifying its full message to a ’no’ message.”

“Every citizen deserves the whole story and the truth and to know that on our side the door is still open.”

He said he was “profoundly hurt and saddened” by the weekend’s events – with the referendum announcement coming as a shock.

“On a political level and as a human being I tried everything and they know it,” he said.

“Other European countries went through very difficult cuts. All governments took very difficult decisions. Some paid a very high political price for their solidarity and their financial support to help the most vulnerable countries."

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