An interesting debate broke out at the Dutch parliament between the chief of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi and the Forum for Democracy leader Thierry Baudet. During the question-answer session after Mr. Draghi opening statement to the Dutch parliament, Mr. Baudet asked Mario Draghi whether or not Netherlands would receive €100 billion surpluses from the European Central Bank (ECB) should the country leave the euro. While Mr. Draghi said that the country would not receive back the surplus money, Mr. Baudet raised a document that referred to the comments made by Mr. Draghi where he said that if Italy were to leave the Eurozone, they would have to pay back the difference in what they owe due to their deficit. Mr. Baudet asked, “As we, the Netherlands, now have a surplus of about €100 billion, does this by your own words mean that if the Netherlands decides to leave the Eurozone, which is one of the key points of my party’s program, we would get back €100 billion from the southern countries in the Eurozone according to your views?” Mr. Draghi tried to avoid direct answering by suggesting that the euro is irrevocable according to the treaty and he would not like to speculate on a hypothetical situation that has no ground in the present treaty. He also pointed out that the euro has been a success for the Eurozone and especially for countries like Netherlands. Mr. Baudet disagreed with Mr. Draghi on the benefits of the euro and snapped back by saying, “Just one point, you said you didn’t want to speculate on about the possibility of the Eurozone falling apart. But isn’t that precisely what you did in January when you were saying, ‘If Italy leaves, it will have to settle the bill’………..You were actually speculating about the breaking up of the Eurozone, and wouldn’t it be intellectually fair to have the same principles if the Netherlands decides to leave.”

The ECB chief insisted that he would not speculate any further before he reiterated that the euro had been beneficial to the Netherlands, and highlighted its importance to the single market. Mr. Baudet finished by saying “We’ll see about that then.”

This argument shows how the hypocritical bureaucracy runs deep within the EU and the Eurozone and even in independent institutions like the European Central Bank (ECB).