Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-07-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] A Grexit must be avoided, EU Commission president Juncker says

[02] EU Commission president Juncker does not see an agreement on Tuesday

[03] President Pavlopoulos' letter to Donald Tusk

[04] Eurogroup expects new proposals from Greece, says Dijsselbloem

[01] A Grexit must be avoided, EU Commission president Juncker says

He also made clear that himself and the European Commission will contribute to finding a solution and reaching an agreement.

"We should avoid a Grexit. I am against the exit of Greece from the euro," he reiterated and added: "No one wants Greece out of Europe. We need to understand what the referendum in Greece means. The Greek people voted overwhelmingly not, but on a text that does not exist."

He also noted that he would ask the Prime Minister to explain the vote of the Greek people, however, stressing that "we must show respect for the popular verdict."

[02] EU Commission president Juncker does not see an agreement on Tuesday

Speaking at the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg, the European Commission president said that "negotiations in Europe continue until the last second" and added: "We have to sit again around a table and find a solution."

"The solution will not be found today, because if it was found today, it would be a simplistic solution. We must open the door for discussions and through understanding and acceptance of each other to correct the situation," he explained and added: "In the temple of European democracy, I do not accept the Greek government to call the representatives of the institutions terrorists. These things are unacceptable in Europe. We have all tried to avoid the situation we are right now."

"This afternoon, we will meet again and will try through negotiations to make progress and to end up to an agreed solution," he underlined.

Juncker reiterated that the ball is clearly in Greece's court. "They must explain to us their views and how we will get out of this complicated situation," he said.

"On behalf of the European Commission, the president is willing to do whatever is possible in order to reach an agreement within acceptable time limits

[03] President Pavlopoulos' letter to Donald Tusk

"I would like to inform you that following a request by the Prime Minister of Greece Mr. Alexis Tsipras, I called a meeting yesterday of the political leaders of the Parties of the Greek Parliament, in which a common declaration was adopted by all Parties except the Communist Party of Greece stating the following:

The recent vote of the Greek people in the referendum does not constitute a mandate to break away from the Euro zone, but a mandate to continue and strengthen the effort for attaining a socially just and economically viable agreement. The Government will assume the responsibility of continuing negotiations, and every political leader will contribute to this effort on the basis of their institutional and political role.

The common goal, in this context, is the pursuit of a solution that will ensure:

- Covering, sufficiently, the financial needs of the country

- Credible reforms, based on a fair distribution of burdens and the promotion of growth, with as few recessionary consequences as possible

- A strong, front-loaded developmental program, primarily oriented to confronting unemployment and encouraging entrepreneurship

- A commitment to beginning a substantial discussion on confronting the problem of the viability of Greek public debt

The Political Leaders also underlined that the restoration of liquidity in the Greek banking system, in coordination with the ECB, constitutes an immediate priority.

The aforementioned consensual decision of most Greek Parliamentary parties constitutes a crucial opportunity for all euro zone partners to reach an economically and politically viable agreement."

[04] Eurogroup expects new proposals from Greece, says Dijsselbloem

He added that he will meet in private before the Eurogroup meeting with the new Greek Finance Minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, to discuss the proposals of the Greek government. "We will take it step by step," he said. If the Greek people rejected the old proposals, he said, the Eurogroup expects new, that can be regarded as credible, noting that he hopes a solution to be found. Finally, he said that the eurozone is ready to do whatever is necessary to preserve its stability and therefore there can be no outcome that will doubt the credibility of the eurozone.

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