This Friday, IL was the only party to oppose the European Parliament’s binding conclusion on ECB decisions, while the CDU was isolated from the idea that the country should prepare to leave the eurozone.
These positions were adopted this evening in a debate between the leaders of the lists of the Liberal Initiative (IL), Bloc de Esquerda (BE), CDU and Livre, broadcast on TVI, which focused on discussing economic issues.
At the very beginning of the debate, CDU candidate João Oliveira said that Portugal must prepare to leave the eurozone, which he considers “one of the obstacles” to the country’s development.
“The euro is not a fatal phenomenon. There are countries in the European Union (EU) that do not have the euro: Denmark and Sweden, for example. Do people live worse in these countries? No. We also want people to live better lives in these countries. Portugal,” he said.
This position was immediately criticized by the head of the IL list, João Cotrim de Figueiredo, who accused the CDU of being “unable to explain whether it wants to leave the eurozone” and asking the communists to “assume that they are against the EU”.
For her part, BE candidate Katarina Martins quoted former Prime Minister António Costo as saying that “the euro has been a blessing for Germany” but argued that the path “that makes sense in the current balance of power is for Portugal does not leave the euro.” “.
“We have broad alliances that allow us to fight the standards of economic governance, to have a different way of having a European Central Bank (ECB), and also to fight the standards of the single market,” he said.
Livre’s number one Francisco Pauperio also spoke out against leaving the euro, highlighting that since Portugal joined the single currency “wages have risen a lot more” and pointing out that the EU has also accelerated basic sanitation in the country.
“It’s not all negative, but of course there is criticism,” he admitted.
The debate then focused on scrutiny of the ECB, with João Cotrim de Figueiredo arguing that central banks “are only useful if they are independent” and accusing the BE of wanting to “exercise political oversight of the ECB.”
“This was the end of the EU as we know it,” he warned, while Katarina Martins countered that the ECB was “not responding democratically to anyone, but responding to the financial system.”
What BE is proposing “is that the European Parliament not only has an opinion, but can have a binding opinion on what the ECB’s mandate should be,” he said, an idea echoed by candidate Livret, who presented the party’s proposals.
“All European Commissioners at the beginning of their mandate are ready to go to the European Parliament and respond to parliamentarians. And we ask that the same thing happen at the ECB,” he said, while João Oliveira said it was necessary to give “the ability to supervise national banks.”
“We defend democratic control of institutions to serve the people, not the bankers,” he said.
The candidates then discussed Livre’s proposal for a European minimum wage, with Francisco Pauperio explaining that it is not about imposing the same values at EU level, but about all member states having a minimum wage, which is not currently happening.
In the case of Portugal, he continued, the salary would be equivalent to 80% of the minimum wage in Spain. This measure was criticized by the leaders of the BU and the CDU, who considered that it was a “levelling” and that in the case of Portugal it would ultimately mean a reduction in the minimum wage.
Joao Cotrim Figueiredo criticized those who believe that they can “raise wages by decree,” adding that “if there was financial literacy, no one would understand the proposals” from BE, the CDU and Livre.
“The only way to raise wages consistently is to have a growing economy,” he said.
The debate ended with a discussion about wealth in the EU (BE, CDU and Livre argued that it was poorly distributed, and IL that it was not created enough), as well as the use of European funds.
Cotrim de Figueiredo argued for greater transparency in the use of funds, BE for the creation of anti-corruption mechanisms, while the CDU believed Portugal should receive more European funds, arguing that current funds “do not compensate” for what the country is losing.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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