PM meets troika, says government will speed up reforms

Page last updated at 07:28 GMT, Friday, July 6, 2012 - 12:28 EST

AMNA--Meeting the head of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund 'troika' mission in Athens on Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras underlined the government's willingness to make more decisive progress in the fiscal consolidation program for Greece and accelerate structural reforms that would allow the economy to recover, create jobs and strengthen social cohesion.

The meeting lasted nearly an hour, during which Samaras outlined his main positions for the future of the Greek economy as these were laid out in his letter to the Eurozone member-state leaders at their recent summit, including the premier's statement that Greece accepts 'ownership' of the fiscal program.

According to one of the prime minister's aides, the government intends to first implement policies that produce tangible results and then seek a renegotiation of bailout terms. Emphasis is also given to the meeting between the troika and Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras on Sunday, after which the finance minister will travel to Brussels to attend the Eurogroup. The government's goal is to avoid the necessity for ratification of any decisions taken by European member-states by EU national parliaments, which it believes will introduce further complications and launch a new round of debate concerning the Greek problem.