Greece’s Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addressed his cabinet during a meeting on Tuesday, in the aftermath of the extraordinary Eurogroup meeting on Monday. “Today is an important day. And it is an important day because after six years of constant cuts, bad news and hard austerity, we finally have good news,” said Tsipras, pointing to the need for Greek society to, once again, look to the future with optimism.
The agreement reached, says Tsipras, will pave the way towards unlocking more than 5 billion euros benchmarked for Greece so that the country can cover its debt repayments and pay off state arrears.
“Greece is not any longer alone and isolated, but has the strong support of a number of political forces and governments that have finally understood that Greece has the right to turn the page. To escape from the vicious circle of recession and debt and get on the course to recovery,” he said, stressing that this was as a result of Greece’s negotiation efforts, diplomatic initiatives and cross-the-board political interventions.
At another point of the meeting he said that, for the first time, Greece has a roadmap with specific steps for debt reduction which will further sharpened at the Eurogroup meeting on May 24. As a result, debt relief is on the horizon, creating the fiscal conditions for economic recovery and social cohesion. “Today we are realistically happy and optimistic,” he said, adding however that the next period will be demanding. During the meeting, Tsipras admitted that it was the Greek side that proposed automatic cuts in salaries and pensions should Greece veer off course and fail to meet its primary surplus targets.
“A plan is necessary as well as determination for rupture and changes, boldness and effectiveness to finally get the economy on track.”
With Greece turning a new page, Tsipras stated that six years of darkness are behind with “Greece eventually seeing the light for growth.”
“It is the time to plan properly the productive and social reconstruction,” he noted, calling for an intensification of efforts.
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