Troika (EU policy)
Troika ( Russian тройка [ ˈtr͡ɔjka ], German 'Dreigespann' ) referred to a cooperation between the European Central Bank , the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission . The Troika and its representatives negotiated loan programs with member states of the Eurozone and acted as the supervisory body for the European Stability Mechanism . The Troika gained particular prominence in the wake of the Greek sovereign debt crisis that has been publicly known since autumn 2009 .
In 2015, at the request of the newly elected Greek government , the term troika was replaced by institutions in official language . When negotiations on a third credit program for Greece began, the Troika was replaced by the Quadriga in July 2015 .
composition
The Troika organizations are represented by the following people:
| Body | Department / Office | person | Country of origin | image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Commission |
President (official) |
Jean-Claude Juncker |
 Luxembourg
|
 |
| European Commission |
Vice-President , Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs (civil servant) |
Olli Rehn |
 Finland
|
 |
| European Commission | named negotiator | Matthias Mors |
 Germany
|
 |
| European Central Bank |
President of the ECB (civil servant) |
Christine Lagarde |
 France
|
 |
| European Central Bank | Head of Department at the ECB, designated negotiator | Klaus Masuch |
Germany
|
 |
| IMF | managing director of the IMF , engl. Managing director |
Kristalina Georgieva |
 Bulgaria
|
 |
| IMF | named negotiator | Poul Mathias Thomsen |
 Denmark
|
 |
Klaus Masuch is negotiator of the ECB delegation in Greece and department head in the Directorate Economic Developments , responsible for the EU Countries Division , with the Convergence & Structural Analysis Section and Forecasting & Monitoring Section . Masuch previously worked at the German Bundesbank.
Matthias Mors is a member of the Commission and represents the economies of the Member States II . He studied economics in Regensburg and Oxford.
The Dane Poul Thomsen has worked as an economist for the IMF for 30 years. He is known for giving grants only in return for (“market-friendly”) reforms in the financial sector. Thomsen has monitored the implementation of such programs in the former Yugoslavia, Russia and Iceland, among others.
Position of the ECB
The ECB only has an advisory role as the rescue programs are signed by the IMF and the EU Commission. According to information from the Süddeutsche Zeitung on March 5, 2013, the ECB is now considering leaving the Troika. The former President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso , said in June 2013 that he wanted to end the work of the Troika in the long term.
criticism
In March 2014, the European Parliament passed a report sharply criticizing the Troika and calling for it to be phased out. The committee “unilaterally relied on austerity measures and neglected growth impulses”. MPs criticized the body for lacking legal and democratic legitimation and control.
The business journalist Harald Schumann criticized in February 2015 that the Troika members, as officials of the EU Commission, are obliged to comply with EU law. However, they violated Article 153 of the EU Constitution , which states that the EU and its institutions are “not responsible for pay”. Reforms to lower wages were forced in all crisis countries, for example lowering of the minimum wages in Ireland , Portugal and Greece . In Greece, following a threat to suspend the next loan disbursement, the minimum wage was cut by a fifth to 3.40 euros an hour, despite the opposition from unions, employers' associations and the responsible minister, Giorgios Koutroumanis . The system of collective agreements was smashed - in Portugal in 2014 only 6 percent of employees worked according to collective bargaining agreements. According to Schumann, the wage cuts did not create any new jobs; massive emigration is a consequence.
Schumann also interviewed Antonis Manitakis , who wanted to reform the administration in the Samara government and, after individual scrutiny, dismiss “the incapable or the corrupt”. After the civil service had already shrunk to 70% of the employees without mass layoffs, Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF delegation, finally demanded the dismissal of 15,000 employees, 4,000 of them immediately. As a result, the state radio was closed and teachers, doctors and school inspectors were collectively dismissed. The administrative reform, however, was not pursued further, and Manitakis resigned. Layoffs at the tax authorities led to tax losses.
The institutions continue to be perceived as undemocratic, since they are neither elected by parliament nor directly by citizens. In the political guidelines of the Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker of July 15, 2014, it is planned to reform and restructure the Troika: “In the future, we should succeed in replacing the 'Troika' with a structure with stronger democratic legitimation and accountability which is located around the European institutions, with increased parliamentary control at both European and national level. "
Documentation
- Arpad Bondy , Harald Schumann : Power without control - The Troika . Arte, February 24th (90 min., Alternatively on Youtube )
literature
- Ulrich Alemann (Hrsg.), Eva G. Heidbreder (Hrsg.), Hartwig Hummel (Hrsg.), Domenica Dreyer (Hrsg.), Anne Gödde (Hrsg.): A social Europe is possible: Basics and options for action . Springer, 2015, pp. 261–284
Individual evidence
- ↑ Symbolic victory for Greece: The Troika is no longer called Troika . Spiegel Online , February 13, 2015
- ↑ The unpopular auditors of austerity are back . FAZ.net , February 13, 2015
- ^ Mors: negotiator appointed by the EU Commission
- ↑ Masuch: negotiator appointed by the ECB ( Memento from February 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ a b c Thomson: on the person . Mirror online
- ↑ List of employees of the ECB (PDF; 56 kB)
- ^ Masuch: on the person . Mirror online
- ↑ List of employees of the EU Commission (PDF; 202 kB)
- ^ Mors: to the person . Mirror online
- ↑ ECB doubts whether it will remain in the Troika . sueddeutsche.de
- ↑ There is a crunch between the euro rangers . FAZ.net
- ↑ The IMF makes the Stability Pact ridiculous . FAZ.net ; Interview with Klaus Regling
- ↑ EU Parliament criticizes Troika , tagesschau.de, March 13, 2014.
- ↑ a b c Harald Schumann: Power without control (documentary). (No longer available online.) Arte , February 24, 2015, archived from the original on February 25, 2015 ; Retrieved February 25, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Harald Schumann: Completely detached. In: Der Tagesspiegel. February 24, 2015, accessed February 25, 2015 .
- ↑ a b Harald Schumann: Power without control. In: Der Tagesspiegel . February 24, 2015, accessed February 25, 2015 .
- ^ Jean Claude Juncker: Political Guidelines , p. 8.
