Greece

Bernard Jenkin Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I make the broad observation that ultimately countries have to live within their means; we see what happens if they do not. On the Greek debt situation and the burden of Greek debt, eurozone members were in discussions about the terms of debt repayments and the like, but those negotiations were broken off on Saturday because of the unexpected announcement by the Greek Prime Minister on Friday.

[Mr Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)]

Does not the eurozone states effectively endorsing a plan for fiscal and banking union, as proposed by the five eurozone Presidents, regardless of the treaty that the Prime Minister vetoed in December 2012, underline the urgency for the Chancellor to deliver on the dilemma that he outlined in a speech on 15 January 2014, when he said:

“The…Treaties are not fit for purpose.”

He also said:

“If we cannot protect the collective interests of non-eurozone member states then they”—

meaning we—

“will have to choose between joining the euro, which the UK will not do, or leaving the EU.”

Can he explain why those words have been taken down from the Downing Street website?

[Mr Osborne]

I have absolutely no idea; I thought it was one of the better speeches I gave over the past five years. My hon. Friend will be glad to know that I repeated exactly those arguments, including the phrase about the challenge of Britain having to choose, in the Mansion House speech that I gave just a couple of weeks ago. That is certainly up on the Treasury website.