Athens , 5 March 2010

Journalist: Mr. Droutsas, since yesterday you have had a number of meetings with journalists, you have given a number of interviews in the German news media. What was the focus or our colleagues’ questions?

Mr. Droutsas: Their interest was focused mainly on the economic crisis in Greece and how Greece – the Greek government – is handling the issue. And, of course, due to the latest developments, there was also interest in the level of Greek-German relations – whether these misunderstandings, if you will allow me to use that term, in recent days have impacted the two countries’ relations.

I think that those two points were focused on by everyone I had the pleasure and honour of talking to these past couple of days.

Journalist: What messages did you want to send in the interviews you gave?

Mr. Droutsas: That Greece is a country with credibility. That the current Greek government has from the very outset tried to confront the difficult situation that it inherited; to confront it systematically and in a serious manner, through systematic and serious work.

We wanted to send the message that Greece and the Greek people are aware of how serious the situation is and that measures have to be taken. But the principal message is that we are credible as a country that is making a very serious effort to get out of this crisis; to get out of this crisis under its own steam. But also that Greece – which is prepared to do what it has to do – needs the support of Europe, the European Union, the EU partners. And that this support is vital to us. And that this support is vital not only to Greece, but also to the whole Eurozone and the euro itself.

Journalist: As there has been a lot of conjecture regarding tomorrow’s meeting between Mr. Papandreou and Ms. Merkel, can you tell us what specifically you will be asking of Ms. Merkel at tomorrow’s meeting.

Mr. Droutsas: First of all, let me stress that this meeting between Prime Minister Papandreou and Chancellor Merkel is a meeting between two leaders, two heads of government, and the agenda is long.

We will discuss matters of mutual interest, particularly concerning developments in the European Union. Issues like ‘EU 2020’, which is very serious and concerns the future of the whole European Union and all European citizens.

We will also look at issues of and potential for cooperation and closer coordination within the European Union between Greece and Germany.

It will of course be an opportunity to set out our thoughts and reiterate our position – our clear positions – on matters of strong interest to Greece with regard to our foreign policy: developments on the Cyprus issue, Greek-Turkish relations, developments in the Balkans, the issue of the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

And of course we will discuss the matter of the economic crisis in Greece and the manner in which Greece, the Greek government, is handling this crisis. And we will also discuss what the European Union – our partners – can do to show real support for Greece’s efforts and to support the whole Eurozone and the euro.

Journalist: What exactly will you be requesting of Ms. Merkel on this last issue; the Greek crisis and the situation that has been created?

Mr. Droutsas: To find ways, for ways to be found by the European Union to send a clear message to the international markets that neither Greece nor any other member state of the European Union and the Eurozone is alone when they face such crises; that they have the full support of the European Union as a whole.

That has to be our message, and it has to be Europe’s message to international markets.

Journalist: Mr. Droutsas, I cannot remember any other Greek politician mounting a media campaign like this in Germany; taking a communication initiative like this. What role does public diplomacy play today?

Mr. Droutsas: Public diplomacy today – when the news media are so dominant – plays a very important role. I often think that many of us experience a situation where we do our work right and well, but if you don’t send the right message, particularly to the international news media, your work may not get the response it deserves. So, public diplomacy plays a very, very important role today.

Now, with regard to my latest meetings here in Germany and with the German news media, I don’t think we should exaggerate that it is a major communication campaign. It’s just that right now our country is going through a difficult time; it is a challenge for us.

I believe that through the right work we can transform this time of crisis into an opportunity for our country, as well, and emerge from this time of crisis and really try to build what I am so bold as to call the new Greece. A Greece that will once again have the necessary standing abroad, in international developments, and a Greece where the Greek citizen can believe that the Greek state is really meeting their needs and doing its job right to meet the needs of the Greek citizen.

That has to be our goal, and that is what I would like the message to be at this truly difficult time for our fellow citizens. A message of optimism and hope that what the Greek citizen has to do today – these tough measures that have to be borne – will very soon have the necessary results. And we will see a Greece and a Greek state that can really meet the needs of the Greek citizen.

Journalist: And a final question. To what extent have Greek-German relations been damaged by the recent items in the German and Greek news media: on the one hand, bankrupt Greeks in a major German daily, and on the other that the Germans shouldn’t talk as long as they owe reparations.

Mr. Droutsas: As you said, it is mostly news articles that have raised the tone. And again, that is why public diplomacy is so important, because such an action – something that happens on the level of the news media – can create further misunderstandings.

What I tried to tell my collocutors here in Germany, in all sincerity, and in my effort to carry this message to German public opinion, is that Greece really is going through a difficult time. Greek citizens know they have a difficult time ahead of them.

Greek citizens see that they have already done some very serious things, and they are doing even more, really. So, Greek citizens have the sense that they are doing what is necessary – what they themselves also feel is necessary. But they still have the sense that they are only coming in for criticism from abroad, from our partners. And this criticism is often expressed in a manner that is not all that constructive.

This can of course create a sense of being slighted, and these feeling are often expressed – and rightly so, I think. That is the reaction of the Greek citizen, and this is what I tried to make German public opinion understand: That the Greek citizens are being criticised unfairly, and they are responding to this unfair criticism.

But I think that Germany and German citizens – many opt to visit our country every year. Very many Germans know Greece and the Greek people well, and I think that most Germans have the best of memories and impressions from these visits. And I tried to stress precisely this fact. And this is the best foundation for the good relations that really do exist between our two countries.

Journalist: Thank you very much.

Mr. Droutsas: And I thank you.