Main points from Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas’s interview on NET TV’s “Weekend on NET”:
· [on the financial situation] “Greece has regained its credibility, and I say this with great satisfaction, as well as with pride. All of the reactions we are now seeing from our partners, all of our collocutors, is that Greece has done a good job and dealt with a serious crisis, a serious challenge, with great maturity and seriousness, and has now become something of a model for other countries. I think that the visits from Mr. Stross-Kan and Mr. Rehn will show precisely this yet again: that Greece is following through on what it has said; following through with great seriousness and effectiveness.”
· [on Euro-Turkish relations] “We need to create once again in the European Union another perception of Turkey’s accession course. This course needs to be more convincing so that Turkey understands that its interests lie in becoming a member of the European Union, but that to become a member it will have to change some things. And the things Turkey has to change bear directly on Greece.”
· [on the international finance assessments] “This is one of the root problems, and that is why the debate taking place is broader. What do these international financers do. Who can impact things – what are the so-called international markets we are always talking about? That is why we are talking about the need for global economic governance. For clear rules to be laid down. We have to lay these rules down within the framework of the European Union and globally. That is why the G-20 talks are of such great importance.”
December 4, 2010