Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-08-22

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] European Central Bank official Asmussen meets with VP Venizelos

[01] European Central Bank official Asmussen meets with VP Venizelos

There were no statements after the meeting.

Asmussen held a meeting on Wednesday with Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, after which he praised the efforts and sacrifices of the Greek government and the Greek people.

Asmussen said there are already results that show the Greek economy has stabilised, while the Greek banking system is now recapitalised. He spoke of a painful effort and expressed his respect for the efforts of the Greek people.

He also said that the reforms must be continued and he placed emphasis on efforts to fight unemployment, particularly among young people, and to achieve growth rates.

Asked about a possible new "haircut" for the Greek debt, as well as the possibility of a new fiscal programme for Greece, he referred to the decision taken by the Eurogroup last November which stated explicitly that if a primary surplus is achieved, measures will be examined for further debt reduction.

He added that whatever discussions will not begin before the spring of 2014, when the data on the Greek economy for 2013 comes in.

Asmussen also met with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at the government headquarters of Maximos Mansion on Wednesday, but there were no statements afterwards.

His visit comes ahead of a review in September by Greece's troika of lenders that include the ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund.

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