Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with the President of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe, at Maximos Mansion.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister and the President of the Eurogroup had the following dialogue:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Thank you so much for making the effort to come. You’re always welcome. Of course, this is a good time to discuss European and Greek economic issues. European elections are out of the way. We’ve made our choices for the top jobs, and hopefully they will be confirmed, the new President of the Commission will be confirmed by the European Parliament.
For us, it’s down to work. As you know, we have three years left from the mandate that we received a year ago. I think the economy is progressing well. Growth is projected to be significantly higher than the eurozone average. And even inflation is finally coming down. We see some quite positive news today. For the first time, we actually see reductions, real reductions in prices, especially at the supermarket, a big concern to us because the cost of living issue has been very painful, especially for those households that struggle to make ends meet. But new challenges are ahead, but I think we’re happy overall with the progress.
I’m also eager to discuss the new fiscal rules and the implications for Greece. One final point, as you know, we remain completely committed to the fiscal stability that we have essentially implemented over the past years. We’re happy to see that this is something which is also recognised at the European level.
Paschal Donohoe: Prime Minister, thank you very much for the opportunity to meet. It’s always such a great privilege to have the opportunity to visit you. I just want to recognise and congratulate you for the exceptional performance of the Greek economy. Your Finance Minister, Kostas, has become another excellent colleague of mine and does a superb job representing the Greek economy and the people of Greece in the Eurogroup.
The performance of the Greek economy is now one of the most positive stories in the euro area. Your growth is above the European average. You’ve been running a primary budget surplus for some time. We’re also seeing, I hope, the beginnings of inflation beginning to really come down within your economy.
It’s great to have the opportunity to be here, to meet Kostas, and to discuss the work that we are going to do in the coming years. Thank you again for the difference that you are making to the performance of the economy of Europe.
