Prime Minister of Spain Mariano Rajoy visited Greece yesterday (1.14) and held a meeting with his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras. In statements that followed, Samaras said "the two countries are linked by strong ties of friendship and solidarity. They face common problems as the economic crisis and the waves of migration." Regarding the economic crisis, Samaras noted that Spain has been expressing solidarity concretely: since 2010, it has participated in the rescue mechanism. “The Spanish people have lent the Greek people €26 billion; this is true solidarity. We do not forget, we acknowledge it and the Greek people will return the money,” he noted.

Rajoy, on his part, said he has worked with Samaras and witnessed his momentum and the effort he made to pull the country out of the crisis. "Mr. Samaras is a real leader," he said and added that they discussed the important issues on the European agenda, including jihadist terrorism, Juncker’s plan, and European integration. Rajoy noted that "with reforms, we responded positively to the crisis and in the most difficult moments we were convinced that the answer is within Europe and not outside it. Now, we need stability and certainty rather than instability, and we also need Europe."