The European Commission’s chief spokesman, Margaritis Schinas, told Greece’s private E television that it is now a common conviction that Greece is turning a page and chapter, and that this is because of the trust built that has been built up in Greece-EU relations over the last 7-8 years.
This is a political and economic capital from which Greece is now collecting interest, Schinas said, after grappling with an historic situation that has no precedent in European and international economic history. We must entrench this trust and protect it, as it is the basis upon which we can build post-memorandum objectives, he said.
This presupposes mutual understanding, and broad support for Europe’s irrevocable orientation towards Greece, as well as an irrevocable shift of European and Greek public opinion towards a common future that will unite us, he said.
‘’In August, 2018, the bailout memorandum as we know it ends, and it is the first time since 2009 that an adjustment programme will have been completed. The completion of the third evaluation, which is in its final stages, will mark the beginning of discussions of the post-memorandum terrain,’’ Schinas noted.
‘’I believe these discussions will begin and intensify, and lead Greece to a prospect of self-confidence. They will allow Greece to stand firmly on her feet and make clear to all – friends, partners, enemies and the markets – that major reforms will not be reversed. They will make clear the fact that Greece will not be alone after August, 2018, and that it can rely on the active support of the European Union,» he said.
