Samaras, Juncker confirm confidence in exiting crisis

Greece is not out of the crisis yet but it is nowhere near where it was a year ago, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Tuesday after a meeting with visiting Luxembourg Prime Minister and former Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker.

At a press conference, Samaras said, "The crisis has not been overcome but Greece is nothing like where it was a year ago," referring to economic progress.

The meeting between the two leaders focused on Greece's progress and the restoration of its credibility abroad, the country's domestic stability and the future of Europe.

Samaras said that he underlined to Juncker the importance of the common European policy on energy and illegal immigration and referred to the Greek presidency of the EU in six months as an opportunity for the country to take anew a leading role in European development.

There is a "huge reversal in the psychology and climate internationally for Greece" to which the Greek people's sacrifices, the three-party coalition government's work and the work of Greece's real friends contributed immensely, he added.

On his part, Juncker referred to the substantial progress Greece has registered and he put great emphasis on the efforts that need to be made to deal with the issue of the unemployed, especially of the young.

Juncker is on a two-day working visit to Greece concluding Tuesday.

Source: Athens News Agency