Ceasefire – at least until European elections – was decided between the members of PASOK who support President of PASOK Evangelos Venizelos and those who have consistently supported the positions of former Prime Minister George Papandreou, after the revelation published in Financial Times regarding the background of the Summit of Cannes in 2011.

“The announcement was published and we stay there”, colleagues of Mr Venizelos said adding that “somebody is trying to bring the issue in publicity so as to use it in the upcoming elections – and we do not mean Mr. Papandreou,”. The associates of former Prime Minister have maintain the same attitude clarifying that the exhortation announced ​​by the office of Mr. Papandreou saying that all who involved in the summit should speak did not addressed only to Mr Venizelos, but to all participants of the Summit, such as Barroso, Sarkozy and Merkel.

The statement of Mr Papandreou mentioned that “What we had to say regarding the Summit in Cannes and the referendum, we have already said it many times and the facts confirm our words – despite the objections we may have on the accuracy of certain points of the Financial Times article. Now, it is time for others to speak”.

The article refers that at the end of the meeting of the leaders in Cannes there was a secret agreement of the President of the European Commission with the then deputy prime minister, Evangelos Venizelos:

“N. Sarkozy closed the meeting by reading again the six-point plan, told Papandreou to return to Athens and to “take a decision” and Barroso talked to Venizelos in private.

“We have to kill this referendum” he said. The Finance Minister agreed almost immediately. The end of the referendum would also be the end of Papandrou,”.

When Mr Venizelos returned to Athens, according to Financial times, he prepared a statement repudiating the referendum on whether Greece would remain in eurozone. Those moments are described in the article very vividly:

“In the car, he turned to Mr Venizelos and said that things had not gone as badly as he had feared. Mr Venizelos was incredulous. As Mr Papandreou slept on the flight home, Mr Venizelos, emboldened by Mr Barroso’s admonition, ordered an aide to write up a statement to be released when they landed, at 4.45am on Thursday. “Greece’s position within the euro area is a historic conquest of the country that cannot be put in doubt,” the statement read. “This acquis by the Greek people cannot depend on a referendum.”
Mr Papandreou’s referendum was dead. As was his premiership.”

Yesterday, after the article was published, many members of PASOK who are still on the side of former prime minister remembered Mr Venizelos’s speech at the meeting of the parliamentary party, on Monday 31st October, where the then Prime Minister announced his decision to hold a referendum. That day, Mr. Venizelos declared strongly that he was in favour of this idea.