“Thanks to the efforts of Greek citizens, primarily, but also the state, almost everything is very different in the economy, in society, in the international position of the country since [Angela Merkel] visited Greece,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in joint statements with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Athens on Thursday.
The prime minister noted that Greece was no longer under European surveillance, with 11 positive surveillance reports in the last three years, while it had one of the fastest rates of growth in Europe, its unemployment rate was dropping and it expected to have a primary surplus in 2023.
At the same time, he added, investments and exports have taken off and all this serves to reduce levels of public debt, which this year dropped to 170 pct of GDP, proving that economic progress can go hand-in-hand with fiscal balance.
“This overall upgrade is taking place at a time when my country is also defending against both high energy costs, the war in Ukraine and the national challenges generated by the aggressive behaviour of its neighbours,” Mitsotakis said.
All Greeks were proud of the credibility that the country has gained, “which proves that Greece respects and makes productive use of European assistance, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility programme,” the prime minister noted, adding that the more effectively this help was used, the more convincingly could Greece then ask for more funding.
“I am glad we are working together from new positions for the common goals of our continent, far from the past roles of the powerful and weak, of creditor and borrower. With my country not simply passively asking, as it has done for many years now, but discussing equally, creatively, contributing during the pandemic to the European digital passport and to the formation of the Recovery Fund and now with a key role for a single community policy in energy for European strategic autonomy and for the further deepening of democracy in member-states under siege from populism and demagoguery,” Mitsotakis said.
PM Mitsotakis: WWII reparations remains an open issue for Athens
The issue of war reparations for the nazi occupation of World War II and especially the forced occupation loan remains an “open issue” for Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during joint statements with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday.
“Its settlement would be especially beneficial, particularly at a time when Greek-German alignment in the face of the challenges of the times is unshakeable, chiefly on the Russian invasion of Ukraine where we once again ascertained that our views are identical. Europe cannot tolerate, after 80 years, a new war at its heart nor allow the repetition of a fait accompli of invasion and occupation,” Mitsotakis said, while noting that such a situation still prevailed in Cyprus.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
