Antonis Samaras, the prime minister of Greece, says the European Central Bank's decision to start buying eurozone bonds has proved the beleaguered country must stay in the euro.
In his first public comments since the bond proposals were unveiled by ECB president Mario Draghi earlier this week, Mr Samaras said the plans has demonstrated that Greece must stay in the euro to remain a “modern and credible country”
“Draghi’s decision shows that the solution for a modern and credible country, for every country of Europe, is in the euro,” Samaras said in a speech to open the Thessaloniki International Fair in the north of the country.
“Staying in the euro and regaining credibility is the fight we are fighting now. If we left the euro, pensions wouldn’t be cut; they simply wouldn’t exist.
There would be no spending on medicine. Petrol wouldn’t be more expensive: it would be rationed.”
The doomsday scenario was outlined by Mr Samaras as he called for an end to talk of “Grexit” from the eurorzone. The Greek leader, who came to power following elections in May and June, admitted the country “came very close to exiting the euro".However, he added: “Greece would die [if it left the eurozone].
We had to avert this immediate threat. To regain credibility as a country we had to move ahead with and honor our commitments.”
Mr Samaras is pushing through a €11.5bn (£9.2bn) package of spending cuts over the next two years, which he accepts are unfair and painful but insists are essential to restoring the country’s finances.
Inspectors from the ECB and International Monetary Fund will arrive in the country this week to analyse the progress of the budget cuts and decide whether Greece can receive funds allocated under a second international rescue.
The proposed €31bn package will mainly go to recapitalising banks to boost liquidity and try to support an economy in a fifth year of recession.
telegraph.co.uk
In his first public comments since the bond proposals were unveiled by ECB president Mario Draghi earlier this week, Mr Samaras said the plans has demonstrated that Greece must stay in the euro to remain a “modern and credible country”
“Draghi’s decision shows that the solution for a modern and credible country, for every country of Europe, is in the euro,” Samaras said in a speech to open the Thessaloniki International Fair in the north of the country.
“Staying in the euro and regaining credibility is the fight we are fighting now. If we left the euro, pensions wouldn’t be cut; they simply wouldn’t exist.
There would be no spending on medicine. Petrol wouldn’t be more expensive: it would be rationed.”
The doomsday scenario was outlined by Mr Samaras as he called for an end to talk of “Grexit” from the eurorzone. The Greek leader, who came to power following elections in May and June, admitted the country “came very close to exiting the euro".However, he added: “Greece would die [if it left the eurozone].
We had to avert this immediate threat. To regain credibility as a country we had to move ahead with and honor our commitments.”
Mr Samaras is pushing through a €11.5bn (£9.2bn) package of spending cuts over the next two years, which he accepts are unfair and painful but insists are essential to restoring the country’s finances.
Inspectors from the ECB and International Monetary Fund will arrive in the country this week to analyse the progress of the budget cuts and decide whether Greece can receive funds allocated under a second international rescue.
The proposed €31bn package will mainly go to recapitalising banks to boost liquidity and try to support an economy in a fifth year of recession.
telegraph.co.uk
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