“Dijsselbloem is sexist, xenophobic and racist”

  • ECO News
  • 23 March 2017

António Costa harshly criticized the statements made by Jeroen Dijsselbloem concerning southern European countries. The PM said: "In a real Europe, Dijsselbloem would have been dismissed by now".

António Costa harshly criticized Jeroen Dijsselbloem statements concerning southern European countries. The PM stated that “in a real Europe, Dijsselbloem would have been dismissed by now”. At the side of the Football Talks conference, this Wednesday morning, the prime minister stated that “Europe is not made with people like Dijsselbloem”; Costa spoke of the current Eurogroup President as a “wolf disguised as a sheep”. Minutes later, the President of the Portuguese Republic, in Brussels, reaffirmed the statement made by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, who “spoke on behalf of the Portuguese State”: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reacted saying “Portugal took a stance, it’s taken”.

"Europe will only be credible as a common project on the day this gentleman no longer is the President of the Eurogroup.”

António Costa

Portuguese PM

“These statements are unacceptable“, said the leader of the Portuguese Government about the statements made by Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who accused countries like Portugal of wasting money on “alcohol and women”. Costa stated: “Europe will only be credible as a common project on the day this gentleman no longer is the President of the Eurogroup”. The PM demands a “clear apology to all countries who were profoundly offended by these statements”. He assures that Portugal “doesn’t need to take lessons from anyone”, mentioning last year’s low deficit and the primary balance, which was one of the largest in the EU, as arguments defending the fact that “Portugal honored its obligations”.

“Portugal does not lecture other countries either”, stated Costa, mentioning that the “extraordinary effort” made by northern countries after the world war needs to be recognized, as well as the efforts made by southern countries who were able to “correct their public finance at great cost”. The prime minister advocates for common rules, but also for common respect.

"Instead of contributing to the stability of the euro, values contrary to those of Europe are diffused, creating a division between countries.”

António Costa

Portuguese PM

Costa complimented the European Commission’s White Paper and the Summit celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the signature of the Treaties of Rome, where “27 countries will signal their wish to continue building Europe”. “In order for that conviction gesture to be credible and mobilize people, it needs to translate into action”, states Costa, mentioning Dijsselbloem statements as the opposite of this: “Instead of contributing to the stability of the euro, values contrary to those of Europe are diffused, creating a division between countries”, he criticized.