PM Tsipras: A sense of normality is returning in Greece, says the Sunday edition of “Die Welt”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
August 21 will be a milestone for Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in an interview with the Sunday edition of “Die Welt” in German.
“I think that the Greek people have not properly understood this yet. In the past years, we Greeks made great sacrifices since the crisis started. The end of this phase will boost people’s morale…We have brought a sense of stability and security back to Greece,” he said.
Talking to people, the Greek prime minister added, it was evident that a sense of normality had returned, while the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had called the country a champion of reforms.
Before SYRIZA was in government, he added, things had been different, while he stressed the need to continue the stabilisation of the country and its economy. “Through the success of the reforms there will also be relief for the weakest in society,” he said.
The prime minister appeared certain that the points of the previous year’s agreements with its Eurozone partners will be implemented, including debt relief “so that we can stand more steadily on our own feet and have constant access to the markets”.
He said that details of such a deal were now being worked out, which would involve European funds that had already been promised and the extension of debt repayments after 2022. “This would be a solution that cost European tax payers nothing, but which is an essential condition for access to the markets and to create the necessary cash buffers. We are not asking for our obligations to be shelved,” Tsipras said.
Unlike his predecessors, who imposed austerity but failed to meet targets, his own government had met primarily surplus targets and Greece’s economy was growing by 2.3 pct of GDP compared with the previous year in the first quarter of 2018, Tsipras pointed out.
In the meantime, he added, unemployment had dropped by seven percentage points and, though it remained unacceptably high, show a positive dynamic for change.
“After eight years of crisis, we are in a position to understand ourselves what reforms are right for us. Perhaps some times we may know better than the EU and the IMF,” he said, noting that Greece did not want to return to the situation that existed before 2010.
While expressing understanding for the concerns of German MPs, Tsipras also pointed out that Greece’s success would be a success for Europe and also for Germany “as we are all passengers in the same European boat”.
On the possible role of the International Monetary Fund, he said this would depend on the Fund itself, though its presence would help boost the credibility of all involved.
“Greece has nothing to hide. I think that after the end of the programme we will continue to work closely with the Europeans to show that Greece does not need constant monitoring,” he said.
Asked about the agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to resolve the name dispute, Tsipras said that this was a historic decision that ended a 27-year-old problem. Referring to objections from the opposition parties in both countries, he pointed out that they had adopted almost identical rhetoric, with each considering that they had lost as a result of the agreement.
“There cannot be two losers. They say the agreement is not a solution, only a sort of truce – for both sides. This is negative patriotism. They believe that everything can stay the way it is. I think we should move toward each other through dialogue, for the sake of our peoples,” the prime minister said.
Source: ANA-MPA