MEPs conducting troika inquiry to meet with Greek lawmakers

Parliament Speaker Evangelos Meimarakis (photo) responded positively on Friday to a request from SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras that Austrian MEP Othmar Karas and French MEP Liem Hoang Ngoc, who are the rapporteurs for a European Parliament inquiry into the troika’s actions, should be allowed to address a joint meeting of House committees when they are in Athens on January 8 and 9.

Tsipras proposed that the two MEPs should be heard by members of the economic, social and European affairs committees, as well as the institutions and transparency panel, so that Greek lawmakers also have a chance to ask the visiting parliamentarians questions.

Meimarakis said there had already been discussions with the European Parliament about setting up such an event on January 9.

The draft report on the troika’s work was tabled by the members of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on December 18.

Karas and Hoang Ngoc are to visit all the countries that are operating under a bailout program.