German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met in Berlin on Tuesday to examine Greek progress in applying economic reforms. Both conservative leaders painted a cautiously positive picture of Greece.
“Greece can now stand on its own two feet,” said Mr. Samaras who said that the country doesn’t need a new support package in addition to the 240 billion euros that the country has already received in assistance from the troika of bailout lenders that consist of the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank. During a joint press conference he said that “Greece is leaving the crisis behind.”
“If we generate a growth climate, we can achieve much more,” said Mr. Samaras. “That is why we need some breathing time to be able to support reforms differently.”
He highlighted Greece’s progress by noting that the country achieved a primary budget surplus earlier than planned and forecasts that the economy will grow by 2.9% next year and 3.7% in 2016.
“I believe that we can certainly cover our funding needs from next year,” said Mr. Samaras, eager to end one of the harshest recessions on record in Greece that has seen the country’s economy contract by over 25% since the crisis began.
On her part, Ms. Merkel said that she was “pleased that there are quite positive signs coming from Greece.”
“I know what difficult times Grece has gone through,” said Merkel. “But the first tender shoots of success are visible.”
Berlin, however, refuses to rule out a third bailout due the the fact that there will be a funding gap of about 12 billion euros for the Greek economy next year. A number of EU officials see financial aid as a way of exerting pressure on Greece to implement austerity measures.
