PM Samaras: Stability more necessary than ever

The new government's aim is the completion of its tenure, as stability is now more necessary than ever, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said at the first meeting of the new Cabinet on Tuesday.

Samaras also noted that steady steps are needed in order for the necessary reforms to move forward, and pledged to improve coordination on current issues and on in-depth planning.

"We must meet the targets we have set and complete institutional reforms", he noted, and mentioned the necessity of also reforming the constitution. "Greece doe not have any time to lose. We must speed up. Everyone may retain his own views but the paramount ideology is the country's rescuing", Samaras said.

Speaking of the government's priorities he said that it has to complete the negotiations with the troika of lenders (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) on the new loan tranche. "A lot has been done but we still have outstanding issues", he said, adding that Greece must accelerate the preparations for the Greek presidency of EU starting on January 2014.

Referring to the country's primary surplus, Samaras underlined that Greece must meet its targets in order to be able to relieve lower-income classes who have suffered the most.

The government's immediate priority is economic recovery, resolving unemployment and attracting investments, to prevent new austerity measures. "I believe we are close to these targets", he said.

Source: Athens News Agency