Greek PM calls on European Parliament to join quartet of creditors

Published Wed, Aug 19 201511:50 AM EDT

Pro-European Union protesters wave EU and Greek flags in front of the Greek parliament in Athens on July 9, 2015.

Louisa Gouliamaki | AFP | Getty Images

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for the European Parliament to join the so-called quartet of creditor institutions overseeing the country's 86-billion-euro European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout program.

"I deem it politically imperative that the sole European institution with direct popular mandate acts as the ultimate guarantor of democratic accountability and compatibility of economic policy in Europe," Tsipras wrote in a letter to European Parliament President Martin Schulz.

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Tsipras' office said Schulz reacted positively to his letter in a telephone conversation between the two. Tsipras' request will be put to the parliamentary groups of the European Parliament after it reopens, the prime minister's office added.