In the speaker’s opinion, the Greeks “live quite well, but they do not spend as much time on work as Lithuanian people do” and Lithuanians, who receive lower pensions, do not have “to subsidize” the Greeks.
“It is Greece’s problem. The Greeks borrowed money and they had to think when they borrowed it. From Lithuania’s point of view, I am sure that our people do not have to cover the Greek debts,” she said on the radio Žinių Radijas.
Graužinienė, who is a member of the Labour Party, said that she had “strong doubts” if the Greek parliament would adopt the required reforms. And if the reform plan is passed by opposition votes, “the issue of the government’s fate may arise and everything will return to the starting point”, she said.
Greece on Monday agreed to implement tax and pension reforms in exchange for a third bailout package from the eurozone.
The loan would come from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Lithuania, which adopted the euro at the start of this year, in February transferred its first 65.44-million-euro tranche to the bailout fund, with a total of 327.2 million euros to be contributed over five years.
The Lithuanian parliament’s committees for European and foreign affairs are to discuss these proposals on Wednesday, but it will be the Cabinet that will make decisions on financial support to Greece.
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