Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos met yesterday with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the first foreign FM to visit Greece following the official inaugural ceremony of the Greek presidency of the European Council. The agenda focused on the priorities of the Greek EU Presidency, the fiscal consolidation of the Greek economy reflected on the achievement of a primary suplus, and the importance of Greek-German relations.

 In a joint press conference, Venizelos said that one of the main goals of the Greek EU Presidency was to reiterate the European ideal and the need for further european integration in the light of the forthcoming Eupopean Parliament elections in June. He also said that the Greek Presidency should secure the path of Greek recovery with the valuable assistance of its partners.

Steinmeier said that Greece was "on a good path" in terms of carrying out reforms and that the sacrifices made by the Greek people, combined with the implementation of the necessary policies, appeared to be yielding results and possibly reflecting a sustainable and lasting fiscal consolidation.