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PM: EU, IMF must keep their own commitments
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday sent a message to the European
partners and the IMF to undertake their own responsibilities and to fulfill
their commitments, reminding them that Athens
has abided by its own obligations and underlining that Greece's future as well as the
stability in the eurozone now depends on their decisions.
Decisions on Greece were put off to a new meeting of the Eurogroup on Monday, when eurozone finance ministers will resume discussions on the sustainability of the Greek debt, after failing to reach agreement during a 10-hour session in Brussels on Tuesday that lasted into the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday.
"Whatever
technical difficulties in finding the technical solution do not excuse any
oligory or delay on the Greek issue," stressed Samaras in an announce-ment
early Wednesday on the outcome of the Eurogroup meeting, noting: "Greece
has done what it should and what it had committed to do. Our partners, together
with the IMF, are obliged to do that which they have undertaken. Not only the
future of our country, but the stability of the entire eurozone, depend on the
successful completion of this effort in the coming days."
On Wednesday, Samaras will go
to Brussels to
participate in the EU Summit on Thursday that will focus on the EU budget for
2014-2020. Although the Greece
issue and the debt crisis in the eurozone are not on the Summit's agenda, it is possible that some
discussion will take place.
Samaras will also meet with
Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday.
"The Eurogroup welcomed the staff-level agreement reached between the Troika and the Greek authorities on updated programme conditionality, including a wide range of far reaching measures in the areas of fiscal consolidation, structural reforms, privatisation and financial sector stabilisation.
The Eurogroup noted with satisfaction that all prior actions required ahead of this meeting have been met in a satisfactory manner. This reflects a wide ranging set of reforms, as well as the budget for 2013 and an ambitious medium term fiscal strategy for 2013-16. These efforts demonstrate the authorities' strong commitment to the adjustment programme.
The Eurogroup commended the considerable efforts made by the Greek authorities and citizens to reach this stage.
Against this background, the Eurogroup has had an extensive discussion and made progress in identifying a consistent
