We want sustainable growth to return what we borrowed, Tsipras tells MEPs

Replying to criticism levelled by MEPs, who chiefly focused on the burden shouldered by their own countries as a result of the Greek crisis, Tsipras underlined that he had no secret plan to exit the euro but only sought an agreement that was economically sustainable and socially just, precisely so that Greece might be able to return what it has borrowed.

Expressing his "absolute respect" for the laws governing the EU and the Eurozone, he also quoted the ancient Greek dramatist Sophocles "who taught us that the greatest of all human laws is justice."

"I want to reply to you honestly. Throughout the last week, the overwhelming majority of statements by European politicians and officials said that a 'No' in the referendum meant Greece's automatic exit from the euro. The citizens knew this when they went to vote. In spite of this, they returned a result that surprised everyone," Tsipras said.

"If my goal had been to take Greece out of the euro, I would not then make statement and interpret the referendum result, not as a mandate for a rupture with Europe but as a mandate to redouble the negotiating effort to reach a better agreement, a more credible agreement, an agreement that is economically sustainable and socially just," he added.

Replying to pointed criticism, Tsipras said that the most intense "rhetoric" was targeted against "our inability to respond to the order of the European partners."

He noted that Greece's request for debt restructuring was also made so that the country might one day be in a position to return the loans and not be forever forced to take out new loans in order to service the previous ones.

Addressing the head of the European People's Party (EPP) Parliamentary Group Martin Weber, Tsipras stressed that the "most important moment of solidarity in modern European history was in 1953, when your country emerged deeply in debt and looted by two world wars - and in Europe, the European peoples, showed the greatest solidarity at the London Conference in 1953, when they decided to write-off 60 pct of Germany's debt, as well as growth clauses."

"Everyone understands that the discussion is not exclusively about one country but concerns the future of our common construct, the eurozone and Europe," Tsipras stressed, saying that the conflict was between two diametrically opposed strategies for its future and calling on all sides to assume their share of responsibility.

The Greece's prime minister pointed out that the discussion in the European Parliament should have been held much earlier, instead of holding negotiations behind closed doors as in the last five months. He echoed the concerns expressed by other speakers, who had called for the involvement of the European Parliament in the decision-making process, in addition to the other EU institutions.

He stressed that if the negotiation had been between the Greek side and the European Commission, a solution would have been found long ago. Instead, the negotiation was between the Greek side and three different institutions that often had conflicting views and proposals.

Tsipras rejected criticism that the Greek side had failed to present proposals, saying it had submitted a 47-page plan that was the result of lengthy and painful negotiations and had returned with a document of proposals accepted as a basis for discussion by the institutions.

At the same time, he said Greece retained the right to decide how fiscal targets should be met. Trying to dictate to Greece the specific measures it should take was a direct interference with the sovereign rights of national governments, he sad.

"It is the sovereign right of a government to choose whether to increase taxation on profit-making businesses and to not cut the benefits to the lowest pensions, the EKAS, in order to meet fiscal targets," Tsipras told European lawmakers. "If it is not the right of a sovereign government to choose in what way it will find equivalent measures to cover the required targets, then we must adopt an extreme and anti-democratic view. That in the countries that are in a programme there must be no elections. That governments must be appointed, technocrats must be appointed and that they assume responsibility for the decisions."

Tsipras repeated his government's commitment to carrying out reforms, including in areas such as early pensions, but wanted the right to choose how the burden of the measures would be distributed.

Replying to the head of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) bloc Guy Verhofstadt, the Greek prime minister admitted that his government's focus in the last five months had been more on the negotiations than the vital reforms that Greece needs.

In conditions of financial asphyxiation, he said, its primary concern was more on keeping the real economy on its feet. He rejected that his government had not taken steps to combat corruption and other endemic problems, pointing out that it was the first to properly investigate the 'Lagarde list' or to sign an agreement with Switzerland forcing Greeks who had sent their money abroad to pay taxes.

He also pointed to a drive to prosecute many that were guilty of tax evasion and laws to restrict triangular transactions for fake VAT rebates, as well as boosting customs controls to stamp out contraband trade.