Eurogroup outcome fits with gov’t planning, Venizelos says
The outcome of Thursday’s Eurogroup summit, at which eurozone finance ministers agreed to consider a precautionary credit line for Greece next year, corresponded to the government’s aim to forge a new relationship with the country’s international creditors, PASOK leader and deputy premier Evangelos Venizelos said on Friday.
“Yesterday’s Eurogroup session fits absolutely with our planning,” Venizelos said, noting that the government’s aim was to secure an agreement with creditors by the end of this year so that Greece can exit the European arm of its bailout and “return to a status of essential equality within the eurozone” but without the “emergency mechanisms” of the troika.
In a clear dig at leftist SYRIZA, Venizelos referred to an effort to “undermine the national front.” “Unfortunately, some – for party political reasons – are undermining the national front and, in reality, want to return the country to a state of dependence, memorandums and troika.” He added that SYRIZA was pledging Greeks “something it can’t describe and can’t guarantee.”
