Athens, 01 Mar 2010 

Statements by Greek Minister of Finance and Commisioner of Economic and Financial Affairs of EU

Greek Minister of Finance George Papaconstantinou met today with Olli Rehn, Commissioner of Economic and Financial Affairs in Athens, at the Ministry of Finance. After their meeting, Mr Papaconstantinou and Mr Rehn stated:

GEORGE PAPACONSTANTINOU: Good evening, everyone. We welcome Mr. Rehn to Athens on his first official visit as the new Commissioner of Economic and Financial Affairs.  We had an open and fruitful discussion on the implementation of the Greek Stability and Growth Programme and we had the opportunity to analyze the progress made so far with regard to the implementation of the Programme, the measures described in the Programme and those that have already been adopted. We discussed the reforms and the changes, the Budget, which is within its targets for January, and the new, independent Statistical Authority that was recently adopted by Parliament. We also discussed all of the initiatives taken by the Government in order to tackle this great challenge of the Stability and Growth Programme.

Of course, such a big Programme entails risks, related to the macroeconomic situation or the implementation of specific measures.  We have already seen some of these risks materialize.

We discussed these risks with the Commissioner, as we did last week with the experts from the Commission who visited our country. And I must say that the Government, as we have already stressed, is ready to do whatever is necessary, including taking additional measures, in order to ensure that the deficit reduction target of 4% in 2010 is met.

On a final note, I would like to thank the Commission and the Commissioner for the excellent cooperation we have. I would also like to thank the representatives of the ECB who were here last week. I would like to thank the Commissioner on a personal level, and I would like to point out that we will keep working together in the next weeks and months in order to reduce the deficit and tackle and control the debt. This is a national duty for us and it is for the benefit of Greek families and citizens.

OLLI REHN: Thank you, George, ladies and gentlemen. I am glad to be back in Athens, even though I could have perhaps visited Athens in somewhat less serious circumstances. But I'm sure that we can together overcome these formidable economical and fiscal troubles Greece is currently facing.

Following up on the meetings of the Eurogroup and the Ecofin Council last month and on the visit of the Commission experts, including representatives from the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, today we had a very fruitful meeting with the Minister, George Papaconstantinou.

I can conclude from our meeting and from our previous assessments that the fiscal and structural measures announced in the Greek Stability and Growth Programme are being promptly implemented as announced, which we acknowledge and welcome.

However, the opinion of the Commission, which is shared by the ECB and the IMF, is that given that risks related to macroeconomic and market developments are materializing, additional consolidation measures are necessary to ensure that the focus and target of the deficit reduction for the year 2010 is met.  I will encourage the Greek authorities to consider and announce additional measures in the coming days in order to meet this target.

I am aware that the consolidation effort will not be easy, but it is my considered belief that respecting the targets of deficit and debt reduction is indispensable as they give an essential contribution to the medium- and long-term prospect of the Greek economy and the social welfare of the Greek citizens.

And finally, the Commission - and I think I can speak on behalf of the whole European Union - will continue to support the Greek authorities and the Greek people in a spirit of cooperation, in order to put the Greek economy back on a sustainable path, which is for the benefit of the Greek people. Thank you.