Greece: “support and solidarity for the continuation of the reform agenda of PM Antonis Samaras” says EPP President Wilfried Martens
Brussels, 17 June 2013
The President of the European People’s Party (EPP), Wilfried Martens, made the following statement about the recent reforms in Greece:"Things are really changing in Greece. After one year as Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras has demonstrated great courage in implementing an ambitious reform agenda to tackle the chronic structural problems of the Greek economy. I commend Antonis Samaras for his determination and boldness to continue to push forward with reforms,” Martens underlined.
“The recent decision of the Greek government to reform the overstretched and indebted public broadcaster into a new public broadcaster, appears to be the only way to finally restructure this critical public organisation. I remember that numerous past initiatives to gradually restructure the public broadcaster while still operational failed due to the strong resistance of the trade unions,” the EPP President noted.
“In the last twelve months, Antonis Samaras has restored Greece’s credibility and is back on track. After last week’s difficult decision by the Greek government, Europe must send clear signals of support and solidarity for the continuation of the reform agenda. This is the only way to ensure that the sacrifices of the Greek people will not be in vein and to safeguard the return to growth," Martens concluded.
Note to editors:
The EPP is the largest and most influential European-level political party of the centre-right, which currently includes 73 member-parties from 40 countries, the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, 13 EU and 6 non-EU heads of state and government, 13 members of the European Commission and the largest Group in the European Parliament.
For more information:
Kostas Sasmatzoglou, EPP Spokesman, Tel. +32-2-2854147
Javier Jiménez, EPP Senior Press and Communication Officer, Tel. +32-475480446