European Commission on Damanaki’s statements

Greek European Commissioner Maria Damanaki on Thursday received the political backing of the European Commission vis-à-vis her statements a day earlier that Greece’s eurozone membership is at stake.
Responding to a relevant question, European Commission spokeswoman Amelia Torres told reporters that the Commissioner’s intention and aim was to send a message to Greece and persuade the Greek people that reforms must be accelerated, competitiveness should increase and fiscal stability be reinforced to place public finances on a healthy basis.

Torres noted that the 110-billion-euro loan offers support to Greece, allowing the country to borrow while avoiding high interest rates and enabling the state to pay the wages of public sector employees.

The European Commission spokeswoman stressed that reforms are a “one-way street” and expressed certainty that Greece will continue the efforts and exit the crisis.

She said that the references made by Damanaki to Greece’s eurozone membership being at risk were merely a “figure of speech” and underlined that the specific question was never raised on any level, neither in the Commission nor the Eurogroup.

“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done and we are expecting that Greece will deliver, in order to create job positions and be able to return to the markets,” she concluded.