Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos addressed a Greek-French Chamber of Commerce event on the subject of "Greece: the six months of the Presidency and the turn towards a definitive exit from the crisis," on January 28.

Venizelos stressed that the Greek EU Presidency was critical because it coincided with the EU Parliament Elections and the deliberations for the EU’s institutional bodies and the key figures who would play a decisive role in the coming years for Europe. He also referred to the unprecedented Greek fiscal adjustment and said that Greece can return to normalcy, adding that "France has a huge opening to be a much stronger player in Greece as a foreign direct investor." He also praised the French banks' participation in the reduction of the Greek public debt, via the private sector involvement (PSI).