The hearing also focused on the nascent Banking Union, the recently-issued country-specific recommendations, and the urgent need to tackle unemployment.
MEPs promptly picked up on Mr Dijsselbloem's opening comments on Greece, asking for information on when the next bailout could be decided, what extra conditions could be imposed on the country, and what specific purposes the loan would be designed to meet. Mr Dijsselbloem replied that the "additional support" he had referred to would not necessarily be a loan and that it was too early to go into details since the Eurogroup still needed to evaluate the progress being made.
Many MEPs asked Mr Dijsselbloem for his views on the Banking Union being set up, particularly the bank recovery and resolution pillar. They pressed him for an assurance that the banks themselves would have to pitch in before recapitalisations with public money could be considered. He confirmed that this was indeed the case.
MEPs, mostly from the left, warned Mr Dijsselbloem and the Eurogroup that there was a risk of missing the wood for the trees when it came to current signs of a return to economic growth. They warned that although growth was returning, the risk of a decade of joblessness remained. They also cautioned that debt levels were again rising, due to the effects of the recession, and that SMEs across the eurozone still faced significant interest rate disparities when applying for loans.
Press release
Economic Dialogue
Questions submitted by ECON to Jeroen Dijsselbloem ahead of the Economic Dialogue and exchange of views on Country-Specific Recommendations on 5 September 2013
Eurogroup press release
Further reporting by Kathimerini: ECB's Draghi says 'no' to giving Greece debt relief
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