EU Commission Responds to Former Greek Ambassador Chrysanthopoulos, Thanks to Movisol

May 9, 2019 (EIRNS)—The EU Commission responded to a letter by former Greek Ambassador Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos yesterday, in which Chrysanthopoulos demands damages for the EU Commission-enforced 60% cut in his retirement check. Chrysanthopoulos had sent his letter on Jan. 12, but the Commission only responded yesterday, after Chrysanthopoulos went public internationally the same day, exposing the fact that his request, addressed to the Commission in January, had not been answered. According to Chrysanthopoulos, it was specifically the Italian version of his exposure, published by the LaRouche co-thinker organization Movisol on its website, that prompted the Commission’s reaction. He credits Movisol, because the Commission’s response addresses him as former head of the Black Sea Organization, a characterization, in all the coverage, that only Movisol had used.

Chrysanthopoulos accused the Commission of violating Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union and Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights regarding the right to human dignity. He invoked Article 41.3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which says that “every person has the right to have the Community make good any damage caused by its institutions or by its servants in the performance of their duties, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the member states.”

In its belated reply, Paul Kutos on behalf of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker defended the austerity policies. “Greece successfully completed its ESM program in August 2018 and economic growth is taking hold,” the letter says. The Commission has always applied rules and “acted in good faith.” The Commission spokesman writes,

“On substance, I would like to emphasize that the Commission has paid great attention to ensuring that the memoranda of understanding concluded by the ESM and Greece are consistent with EU law. The Commission disagrees with your claim that the decrease of your pension would violate Article 2 TEU and Article 1 of the Charter.”

Juncker’s mouthpiece concludes:

“The Greek authorities’ decision to reform the Greek pension system to put it on a viable footing, serves an objective of general interest. It strives to ensure the human dignity of each Greek citizen entitled to pension benefits at present and in the years to come.”

Ambassador Chrysanthopoulos is preparing a tough answer to that letter.