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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-09-09
CONTENTS
[01] Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to visit Brussels on September 17
[02] EC President Barroso praises Greek government efforts; warns terms
should be met
[01] Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to visit Brussels on September 17
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is to visit Brussels on Tuesday,
September 17, where he will meet with European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso, European Parliament President Martin Schulz and
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, sources said on Monday.
The prime minister will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris
Kourkoulas, who is responsible for Greek EU Presidency issues, and will
consult with top level EU bodies to prepare for the Greek EU Presidency
in the first half of 2014.
[02] EC President Barroso praises Greek government efforts; warns terms
should be met
VIENNA (ANA- MPA / D. Dimitrakoudis) -- European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso praised the Greek government's efforts and, at the
same time, warned that the agreed terms should be met in an interview
to the weekly Austrian news magazine Profil on Monday.
"The implementation of the present aid programme in Greece is on the
right track. Despite the difficult circumstances, the Greek government has
made substantive progress in achieving fiscal stability and boosting the
competitiveness of the economy – the Greek government's reform efforts
were praised in July by the Eurogroup, while the next evaluation of the
programme will take place in autumn," Barroso said in the interview.
Responding to a question on the necessity of a new aid package for Greece,
Barroso cited the November 27, 2012 Eurogroup decision according to
which, any additional aid measures - if they are deemed to be necessary -
will only be considered if Greece achieves an annual budget surplus and
if all terms included in the programme are met, noting that therefore,
he prefers to refrain from making any guesses at this point.
Responding to a question on whether he can rule out the likelihood of a
Greek exit from the Eurozone or any other member-state's, he pointed out
that two years ago, this was not being ruled out. However, as it turned
out, no Eurozone member has left and, in fact, Latvia will also join as
of January 1, 2014, he said.
This is a proof that the EU's resilience is greater than what certain
analysts, mostly outside Europe, had predicted, the European Commission
president underlined.
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