Monday, November 26, 2012
EU leaders showed signs of political convergence but in the end failed to reach a conclusive agreement on a multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020, at the special EU summit in Brussels, and talks will continue at a subsequent summit early in 2013, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said at a press conference on November 23. With respect to cohesion funds for Greece, which had been projected to amount to € 11.2 billion, the Premier noted that the Greek side had fought for a special clause, adding that European Council President Herman van Rompuy proposed raising this amount by over 20%.
"The battle is continuing and we are striving to get more funds," Samaras stressed, noting that he was cooperating with other countries which shared the same interests in terms of the budget. The PM also stressed that efforts were underway to secure the disbursement of the next tranche of EU-IMF financial aid to Greece, saying that he held a series of meetings with his European counterparts and EU officials, as did Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras.
Meanwhile, talks continued throughout the weekend, regarding strategies to render the Greek debt sustainable, in view of today’s Eurogroup meeting.
Primeminister.Gr: PM’s Statement following the Summit (in Greek); Greek News Agenda: Eurogroup Fails to Reach Decision
