Meeting with Jerzy Buzek: statements

March 18, 2010

MODERATOR: Hello. Welcome at the press point after the meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Jerzy Buzek, and the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. George Papandreou. And just I should mention that Mr. Papandreou has a flight, and we don’t have much time, so we would appreciate a very short round of questions, but at the beginning (microphone problems).

MR. J. BUZEK: Greeks are not alone in economic hardship, and a strong signal of solidarity today is necessary. I welcome very much Prime Minister Papandreou, and also his ambitious plan and the European Union’s support to support it, and it is necessary, too, for Greece’s economy.

I know very well that it is painful. I am experienced very much from this point of view, and from some experiences in my own country.

But after a few years, even Greek citizens would be proud that could overcome such a crisis. From time to time, we have difficulties in our European countries. All over the world is similar.

I would like to say that stability in the eurozone is very important for all the countries which are inside the eurozone, but also for those which want to join the eurozone in the near future.

So all the Greek decisions and also decisions of the eurozone are, while very important for all the European Union, all member states, solidarity needs responsibility. And I am very glad that from the Greek side we see high-level responsibility.

Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, for coming to Brussels and to the European Parliament.

MR. G. PAPANDREOU: Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to thank President Buzek for the words of solidarity, both personal but also as head of the European Parliament, but also from his point of view as a politician that has lived through difficult times of reforms and what they mean, but also the positive outcomes of these reforms, both for our nations but also for the European Union.

And this is what we are. We are family of values, a family with solidarity with each other and a family where we all need to hold up our own responsibilities towards our nations, but also towards this wider European Community.

I would also to thank the opportunity that was given to me to be able to speak to so many European Parliamentarians, who will be able to inform their publics and their countries, the countries they represent in the European Parliament, about the crisis at hand, the difficulties we have been going through, but also the responsible response that we are taking to this crisis, to this challenge, but also the need for a coordinated response from the eurozone and the European Union.

Thank you again, Mr. President, and it’s an honour to be here.

MODERATOR: A very short question, maybe Athens News Agency.

ATHENS NEWS AGENCY: Will you ask for a political decision concerning the support mechanism to be tabled at the next European summit?

President Buzek, do you feel that Greece has done its part of the deal and now it’s time for Europe to deliver its part of the deal?

MR. G. PAPANDREOU: Well, as you know, the Commission, yesterday I talked with President Barroso and they are ready to make the necessary proposals for the so-called financial mechanism, which would be ready to take the necessary action. And I think it’s an opportunity to make a decision next week at the summit.

So this is something one would expect that the European Union can live up to not only the Greek expectations but I would say the expectations of a much wider, broader population, both in the European Union and in the European Parliament, as I saw today.

So this is, I think, an opportunity we should not miss.

MR. J. BUZEK: I think from the side of the European Union the signals are strong enough to support decisions by Prime Minister Papandreou’s government. And it will not be easy for Greece.

And as we can say, it will be not easy for the eurozone as well. But I am sure the solidarity will win at the end of our discussion, as it is winning today a recovery plan for Greece. That is the first great and good signal.

And it is also a good possibility for all of us to think about the eurozone as a whole, how it is working, and to prevent crises for the future, also outside the European Union. Because as we know, everything is global, and crisis is global as well.

So we must think about how to tackle the whole financial system, not only inside the European Union, also outside the European Union.

MODERATOR: The last question. Yes, please.

JOURNALIST (“DAILY TELEGRAPH”): You say you want a kind of tool, which will be available in Greece, if necessary. It is available in other member states of the Eurozone? This means that the Eurozone should provide soft loans.And will you go to the IMF if that’s not available?

MR. G. PAPANDREOU: Well, I have said that we have kept all options open, and of course we would expect that the European Union can live up to the challenge it is facing. And it is facing a challenge in the fact that we are a eurozone, and when countries do take measures which are similar to the measures IMF would propose, because we are, as you know, in cooperation both with the ECB Commission but also with the IMF, and they have stated very clearly, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn also has made this very clear, that what we have taken as measures would be sufficient to qualify for IMF aid, if necessary.

But what we are saying is that when you have that instrument in place that could be enough to tell the markets that “Hands off, no speculation. Let this country do what it is doing. Let it in peace to be able to move ahead in implementing these reforms, have the necessary breathing space, if you like, so that these reforms can take form and can be implemented, and will have of course a very positive result in making our economy viable.

Now, if you don’t have that breathing space, what does that mean in practice? It means that you are out on the market and the market is giving you loans which are very, very high, as far as their cost. The money is costing you a lot, and that basically undermines the actual measures you have taken, because you have taken measures which have cut wages and pensions and new taxes and so on. And that money then goes to the interests of those that are loaning to you, rather than going to the implementation of a programme and the prospect of growth and prosperity.

So this is what we are saying. Within the eurozone, where we have one currency, we should have similar types of loans – I’m not saying the exact same types of loans, but similar, so that we can be competitive. I think that’s not only a viable but a realistic demand.

As I said, this instrument may never be necessary. But the fact that it does exist is going to be a very important political and financial tool, to support Greece in its needs for going out onto the market.

MR. J. BUZEK: I am going to visit Greece, as quickly as possible. I received an invitation from the leader of the Greek Parliament. I am very grateful for this invitation. I think it will be good to visit, and we can discuss very openly many issues, specifically which would be interested for Greek citizens and also for politicians, about reforms, how necessary are they. Thank you very much.

MR. G. PAPANDREOU: We welcome you to Greece.