Greece is emerging from the crisis, says Italian PM

Greece is emerging from the crisis and Italy will stand next to it though the country which must, however stick to its pledged reforms, said Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in Athens following a meeting with his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras at the Maximos Mansion on Monday. The Italian premier arrived in the Greek capital on Sunday.

At the meeting the two leaders covered a string of issues, including that of illegal immigration as well as the Greek and Italian EU presidencies in 2014. The two men also discussed the benefits stemming from the Trans Adriatic Pipeline for natura gas (TAP) project, both in terms of energy source as well as the creation of new jobs.

“We need a policy which will combine reforms with growth,” said Samaras, who noted the need for Greece to produce a primary surplus in order to return to growth and battle high unnemployment.

“Europe in mythology and history was born here, Europe first faced the crisis here and here is where it will be reborn,” said Letta.

The Italian premier cancelled a scheduled visit to the Acropolis on Monday in a sign of mourning following a bus accident which occurred near Napoli and left 39 people dead on Sunday.