“It is always a pleasure to meet with Greeks abroad, particularly the Greek American community, because I know of your dynamism, your patriotism, your faith in Greece, and because you are a very strong national force for us, here in America. We always want to see global Hellenism make progress, expand its network, gain great social and, if possible, political standing. We want to see the Greeks of the Diaspora succeed. And, in fact, history teaches us that the Hellenic Diaspora shows the best, the most dynamic, the most creative face of Hellenism. Perhaps because, under difficult conditions, under conditions of tough competition and insecurity, we see the emergence of those characteristics that we often hide in Greece, where things are more relaxed and easier.
I know you have followed the crisis our country has been going through in recent years with great anxiety. In reality, this crisis is much deeper and much longer, because the recession alone has lasted six years. This isn’t the time to go into why we arrived at the open manifestation of the crisis. The truth is that we found ourselves facing a tragic dilemma, because we had to choose between the organized handling of the crisis through sacrifices – which, however, have paid off and are leading us out of the crisis in safety – and a disorganized, disorderly default, which wouldn’t have led anywhere.
Of course, even following the crisis, Greece is a wealthy European country. The Greek economy is still among the largest economies in the world, despite our small population of just over 10 million. The size of the Greek economy places it somewhere around 30th in the world. If there were a G30, as there is a G20, Greece would have a very good chance of participating, but this of course concerns numbers and statistics, because due to the crisis the Greeks have lost a large portion of their income. Up to 30 to 35%, and it is very difficult to explain this to Greek families, who saw their income fall, who saw many businesses hit hard or forced to close, who see their children or even themselves in long-term unemployment. And to have to explain to them why we didn’t make this choice, which would have been a complete disaster. It is doubtful whether we would have been able to maintain 30-35% of the standard of living and disposable income.
Now we are in the final stage before exiting the crisis. What is needed, first and foremost, is national unity. Our primary goal is to safeguard social cohesion, to support the weakest members of society. Unfortunately, many of our fellow citizens and compatriots have need of the state’s support and of forms of social solidarity.
But Greece is a blessed land. Once, in the decade of the 1960s, the 1970s, it sent its children away once and for all, through immigration, because it didn’t offer them opportunities. Now we know that it can offer very big opportunities.
This year, tourism alone accounts for 2% of GDP – more than we had projected, because the performance of our tourism industry is much better than we had predicted, and this is not due to the crisis in the Middle East, the situation in Egypt. So this is an extremely good omen, and we have such positive indications in many other sectors, as long as we insist on the line we have drawn. The line we have drawn, very briefly, is that the people cannot bear any more sacrifices. We cannot take new measures, we cannot accept any new cuts in wages, pensions, income.
This doesn’t help the economy – it limits demand, fuels the vicious cycle of recession and unemployment. But we are obliged to move ahead – and our decision is unswerving – with the structural changes. For Greece to obtain a real European state, a competitive economy, and new model for development and production. And, of course, to organize a new type of social state throughout Europe – not just in Greece – that is not vulnerable to a new fiscal crisis. Because now we have a major demographical problem that is reflected in pensions, in the strength of insurance funds, in everything that we see every day, and I am certain that you are following – whether through the Greek news media or the Greek American media here – precisely what is happening in Greece.
You have been hurt, just as the Greek people as a whole have been hurt. The Greeks, just like every nation, are proud, and we have an additional historical reason to be proud. We have not only a right but also a duty to have national dignity, which is a component of national sovereignty. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in a position of weakness, because we had to borrow from our partners and from international organizations, because the markets were closed to us. A return to the markets will happen very soon – sooner than anyone predicted. And the paradox is, our return to the markets will make it possible for Greece to borrow, and it will be proof of our having regained national independence and sovereignty on these issues.
You, here, from the new world, from America, can see more clearly the relationship of the U.S. with Europe, with the European economy, how the Euroatlantic partnership has functioned on security issues, since World War I, since President Wilson, and on economic issues, of course, as NATO and the IMF function. There is a unified Euroatlantic space, and our relations are very close; there is interdependence.
Of course, the European Union is not the United States. It does not have the institutions of a strong federal state, with military, political power. The EU is a new phenomenon, complex; many factors have to come into coordinated play. There are delays, uncertainty, but great steps are being taken, because Europe has sent all the major historical messages and culture and democracy and peace, and it is very important that we keep Europe the continent of democracy, of civilization, of quality, of competitiveness, of free thinking, of rights, because this nurtures the relationship between Europe and the United States.
We are trying to keep our foreign, security and defence policy intact through the period of the crisis. I assure you that no partner of ours has raised any issue regarding the country’s foreign and security policy in combination with the economic crisis or with economic assistance. No one exerted pressure under the threat of the economic crisis on issues that concern us: the well-known list of major national issues. This is of very great importance. And neither did we allow, nor would we ever allow, issues of economic policy and economic assistance to be linked to issues of foreign and security policy. Quite the contrary, precisely because our people are suffering from great pressure and humiliation in the field of economic policy, they feel the need to defend the issues of national independence, sovereignty and security even more vigorously.
These things are on the table in many discussions here at the UN General Assembly – on the margins of the General Assembly, I would say, which is more important than the substance itself, because a lot of discussions are taking place.
We are in extremely close cooperation with the Cypriot government – absolute, perfect, daily. And of course we are trying to maneuver in the best possible way to defend our national interests. This may not always be immediately clear. That is, we may need to make moves on other fronts, like, for example, the Middle East or North Africa, which, however, impact the power relations in our immediate neighbourhood. And so we are trying to defend the whole range of our national interests, without inconsistencies and without causing offence, which has offered us nothing. Because a firm stance on national interest and on national policy is one thing, and not to perceive the equilibriums that exist and to be unable to maneuver amid complex interrelations and an insecure world is another.
The insecurity that exists in our wider region, because we are very near the crisis region, shows that Greece is a secure point of reference. And everyone sees this – enemies and friends alike.
I would like to ask you, here in the space of Hellenism abroad, not to replicate any of the political clashes of Greece. Take special care to safeguard the national unity that, unfortunately, we do not see as much of as we should in Greece. Support the homeland with the vigor and love that you always have, be proud of your Greek identity. Of course, those of you who are American citizens have an obligation to respect and serve the second homeland that welcomed you and gave you an opportunity to develop personally, professionally, academically. And our presence here is really impressive in every sector. And we want to capitalize on this huge network that we have in the political and academic worlds, in the economy, in research, in the news media, everywhere.
I would like to ask you to please convey these messages, and especially my love, to all of your organizations, to our compatriots, and I would like to hope that the next time we meet I will have more pleasant and more specific news about Greece following the crisis, because these years naturally seem to us to be many and burdensome, but in the context of the evolution of our national history, they are nothing: not even half a page in the great history of the Hellenic Nation.”
September 25, 2013