A new, better and more powerful Greece emerges from the crisis, said the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras , addressing to the Finance Ministers of the European Union during the dinner which took place at Acropolis Museum and added that the EU is also becoming better and more powerful than before.

The Prime Minister said that our economy now moves forward and added: “The society has maintained its cohesion, our democracy has withstood all pressures. We came through all these difficulties and we move on. We win this battle! We have confronted the worst part of ourselves and improved ourselves. We cultivated the best prospects for our future, our common future … Democracy can not follow the path by itself. ”

“We need not only an economic development, but a sustainable economic development … The collapse of the economy often leads to the collapse of democracy and society. No democracy can survive in chronic social degradation. We also need social cohesion based on justice and equal opportunities for all citizens. No democracy can survive with a sinking middle class and a growing civil unrest” he also said.

The Prime Minister made ​​extensive reference to the crisis of the past years: “Four years ago Greece was in a very serious crisis. There was then a great concern that such a crisis could be disastrous not only for Greece, but also for the European Union. We heard all kinds of catastrophic scenarios regarding the alleged “inevitable collapse” of the Monetary Union and the European Union itself. We managed to refute these allegations! We agree that the numbers were not in our favor… Neither were the dynamics of aggregates … But our solidarity was proved stronger than the numbers. Our deep devotion to democracy, progress and European integration was proved much stronger than the projections which were based on specific models. The Greeks shot down all the stereotypes that used to prevail. And, thanks to our sacrifices, our economy moved forward.”

He referred to the achievements of Greek people and the things that the society can now expect: “We achieved the largest fiscal adjustment in the shortest period. But we also suffered the biggest losses in GDP during peacetime! We have suffered a lot. And we are still suffering. But, what is the moral of the story? The moral of the story is that the success is an achievement of the countries which encourage individual initiatives and the enterprises, rather than those which try to reduce them. And Greece has now become one of those countries.”

Samaras referred also to the partners’ support: “Our partners have helped us. They showed that solidarity is not just a “good word” used among the members of the EU. It is the cornerstone of our United Europe. And all of you who are here tonight have played the most crucial role so as this solidarity could take shape. We, the Greeks, have managed to turn a painful crisis into an opportunity to change our country and unleash our potential. All Europeans can now be more interdependent. But, at the same time, we are more independent as far as the need of constant borrowing is concerned. We stand on our feet, we release our potential, we are able to compete in global level, we are more effective in securing our borders and developing and managing our energy resources. And we perform all these without being behind defensive walls. Because our perception of the world trade is perfectly compatible with the liberal opinions we adopt within EU. We still have much to do and a long way to go. But, as Europeans, we are now much more confident and more self-reliant than we were before . ”

Samaras made ​​extensive reference to the “stolen Parthenon Marbles by Lord Elgin” and noted that ” the Marbles of Acropolis request the missing Marbles.”

“Whatever Greeks did over the course of history, this area where we stand tonight was always at the center of attention, the center of debates, erection of monuments, cultural evolution and growth” he said.