Athens , 4 March 2010

Journalist: The European Commission and the federal government praised the austerity package announced by the Greek government, and the ECB welcomed it. The guardians of the euro in Frankfurt spoke of substantial additional and long-term stabilisation measures. Greek Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou will be visiting Chancellor Merkel in Berlin tomorrow. On Deutschlandfunk this morning, we have Greece’s Alternate Foreign Minister, Mr. Dimitris Droutsas, on the line. Good morning, Mr. Droutsas.

Mr. Droutsas: Good morning, Mr. Spengler.

Journalist: What do you expect from tomorrow’s meeting between Ms. Merkel and Mr. Papandreou?

Mr. Droutsas: First of all, a very good talk. I think it is an excellent opportunity for the Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Papandreou, to once again present to Ms. Merkel how the Greek government – and I remind you here that we have been in office for only 4 months – is trying to deal with this difficult economic situation, which it inherited in Greece, via a package of measures prepared through serious and systematic work. Just yesterday we decided on and announced the additional measures in Athens, at an emergency meeting of the Cabinet.

Journalist: You will save €5 billion through the package you decided on yesterday. Will that enable you to reduce your financial deficit this year from 12.7% to 8.7%, or will there have to be additional austerity packages?

Mr. Droutsas: We hope that this package of measures – this additional package of measures – will suffice. As you have already said, Greece’s goal – the goal of the Greek government – for 2010 is to reduce the financial deficit from 12.7% to 8.7%, a reduction of four percentage points. We are very optimistic that through the proper implementation of this package of measures we can achieve this goal for 2010. We are obliged to do so. This is something the Greek government is striving to do.

Journalist: Greece needs €20 billion by May to pay its debts. Where will that money come from?

Mr. Droutsas: The situation is this: We – like many other countries, unfortunately, and many other partners in the EU – are obliged to borrow through bonds from the international capital markets. And this is precisely the point where we need help; the support, the solidarity, of our partners in the EU, so that Greece’s bonds on the international capital markets don’t go up too much in price.

Let me give you a short example to make it clearer to our listeners. To take out a €5-billion loan bond today, Greece has to pay €750 million more in interest than Germany would have to pay for the same bond guarantee. These are the so-called “spreads”, which are very high for Greece, and which we are trying to reduce. That is why we need the trust of international capital markets. That is what the measures are for. That is why we need the support of Germany and our partners in the EU, and for them to express their solidarity.

Journalist: Mr. Droutsas, by ‘support,’ do you mean ‘economic support’? Direct payments?

Mr. Droutsas: Let me make a clarification. Greece, the Greek government, never asked its partners in the EU for direct financial support. It isn’t necessary; Greece doesn’t need it. We can balance our state budget again on our own. But what we need from our partners in the EU and from partners as important as Germany is an express, clear statement of solidarity. A clear, categorical message to the international capital markets, expressing full confidence in Greece and the Greek government.

Journalist: Why don’t you have recourse to the IMF?

Mr. Droutsas: We are a member of the EU and the Eurozone. We want and need to find a way out of this on our own, with the help and support of our partners in the EU. That is what we are endeavouring to do, and we will succeed.

Journalist: You passed a tough austerity package. I would like to return to that. Pensions for public and private employees are being frozen, taxes on tobacco and alcohol are being raised, in the public sector the 13^th salary is being cut by 30%, and the 14^th by 60% [sic]. Will your fellow Greeks simply accept that?

Mr. Droutsas: This certainly isn’t a pleasant situation for our fellow citizens. The government is naturally asking for understanding from our fellow citizens. These are tough measures. These are difficult times for Greek citizens. But we want to handle this through dialogue with our fellow citizens, and we believe that we can.

Journalist: Are Greeks aware that in a comparatively rich country like Germany, there is no 13^th salary, let alone a 14^th?

Mr. Droutsas: As I said, these are structural imperatives in Greece. The average wage in Greece – if we compare with Germany – is much lower for a civil servant, and as such, the matter of the 13^th and 14^th salaries is very important for Greeks, and thus it is a very sensitive area. That is why I believe this shows the seriousness, readiness and will of the Greek government to take really serious measures: the government did not hesitate to touch such a sensitive area.

Journalist: There has been a lot in the news recently about Greece, and bribes are mentioned a lot – bribes without which very little gets done. Taxes that almost no one pays. One in four workers is a civil servant, there are rich ship owners who cry poor. How do you plan to change such a system, such an attitude – provided all of this is true – without a revolution?

Mr. Droutsas: We are aware that in the past, certain attitudes took root in public opinion; attitudes that led to this difficult situation in the Greek economy. You are right, and of course this is one of this government’s major plans: to change these attitudes. Naturally, that can’t be done from one day to the next. We have a lot of serious work ahead of us, but this government does have the will to do it. And let me say one last thing at this point. This is a difficult crisis for Greece. But we hope not only to be able to handle it, but also to see this crisis as an opportunity that we will use to build the Greece of tomorrow.

Journalist: Mr. Droutsas, let me ask you one last question. Greek-German relations are not at their high point right now. Why won’t your fellow citizen’s listen to criticism, advice from Germany?

Mr. Droutsas: First of all, let me say that I think the relations between our two countries, Greece and Germany, continue to be very good. I think this will be seen clearly in tomorrow’s meeting between Mr. Papandreou and Ms. Merkel. It is not true that the Greek people do not want to hear advice – quite the contrary. It is clear that difficult times are coming. But the Greek people haven’t been hearing advice lately. They have been hearing criticism, and that criticism is often levelled in tones that can lead to misunderstandings. This can upset  people. But I repeat that I believe that the relations between Greece and Germany are very close and very good. Many Germans know Greece very well, and I think this is the best foundation for lasting good cooperation and good relations between our two countries.

Journalist: Dimitris Droutsas, Greece’s Alternate Foreign Minister. I thank you for our talk.

Mr. Droutsas: I thank you.