Samaras Says Primary Surplus to Reach 1bln Euros

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(Capital) -  Greece has suffered and is still suffering, but it is exiting the crisis, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in Parliament on Thursday, AMNA reported.

In his speech to the New Democracy (ND) parliamentary group, Samaras also noted that national "elections will be held in 2016."

     "We achieved our basic commitment and held the country in the eurozone, not letting it collapse," the premier said. "Now with the primary surplus we will have met most of the 18 actions we have committed to. With the help of God and the support of the Greek people, we shall achieve a lot more in the remaining two years," he added.

He clarified, "When we spoke about a primary surplus in the beginning, they were making fun of us. But according to recent data, the primary surplus will reach 1 billion euros. Some doubted it, saying we did not pay the state΄s outstanding debts; this is a lie - the surplus is indisputable and viable, with everything settled and paid. Some are saying the economy is suffering. My response is that 70 percent of the surplus will return to Greek society."

He added that "hundreds of millions of euros will be redistributed to society by the end of the year, to people in the armed forces and security services and to low-income pensioners, as we had promised."

His greatest priority is to reduce taxes, the premier said, which will be achieved "if we meet targets," while National Strategic Reference Framework funds will provide work opportunities to over 440,000 unemployed people.

     "We came to power 19 months ago," he told the ND group, adding, "Few gave us chances of success at the time, and many took bets that we would not last until December. Others abroad bet that Greece would exit the euro."
     "Consider what has happened in the interim: We proved the Cassandras wrong, we proved those who saw an exit from the euro wrong," he noted, recalling the example of Argentina. "Look at what is happening to Argentina, which has still not recovered 13 years later. We have avoided collapse and we are putting Greece back on its feet," he stressed.

Samaras also criticised main opposition SYRIZA for its inconsistency between its earlier position on leaving the eurozone and its present stance. SYRIZA, he said, accepted and placed Greece at risk of exiting the euro. "We prevented (the exit) despite its (SYRIZA΄s) fierce resistance," he said.