Euro realist MEPs of the ECR and other political groups discuss their views on the deficits of the E

At a joined conference organized by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) and the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD) as well as a Finnish MEP from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), euro realists from different political backgrounds discussed their views on the problems of the Eurozone.

At a joined conference organized by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) and the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD) as well as a Finnish MEP from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), euro realists from different political backgrounds discussed their views on the problems of the Eurozone. “About one third of the European Parliament is critical of the Euro. Eurorealism is not limited to specific groups within the European Parliament. In the future, we would like to bring these people together to make our voices heard”, said Hans-Olaf Henkel, Member of Parliament in the ECR group from the German ALFA-Delegation. Henkel would like to cancel the debt of Greece in order to give the country an incentive to leave the Eurozone. “The money is gone anyway”, said Henkel.

At the conference the economists Peter Oppenheimer (University of Oxford) and Jacques Sapir (EHESS Paris) explained the economic and social damage done by the lack of exchange rate mechanisms, especially for the southern periphery of the Eurozone.
Roland Vaubel (University of Mannheim) analysed the Euro from a theoretical perspective and presented options to divide the Eurozone into smaller currency zones. Additional topics of the discussion were the strategies to keep the economic cost of the Eurozone as low as possible.
MEP Joachim Starbatty (ECR/ALFA) emphasized the political dimension of the Euro’s genesis and explained why the “rescue packages” were rather motivated by political wishful thinking than by economic realities. The conference got broad attention from other political groups. “We would like to invite other Euro realist MEPs to join us and we are looking forward to future cooperation.”