The PM left it to be understood that he while he too lived abroad for quite a few years, he came to udnerstand the issues encountered by the Greek Diaspora.
"I have visited the Greeks of Australia, a country with which we have the best relations and often meet with your representatives. I feel, we all feel, your love for Greece just as I know, we all know your creativity. I was always puzzled why Greeks everywhere in the Diaspora show such dynamism and at home they languish. So today, we change our country. We are building a new Greece, where Greeks will showcase their talents and creativity, just like they do everywhere in the world.The Premier stressed that the Greek EU Presidency is deemed successful, as in the last two and-a-half months it had completed 54 legislative initiatives on tough issues that had been pending for a long time.
"Greece was reborn in 1821 after centuries of slavery. And now it is reborn again through the most severe crisis in decades. Then we won our freedom from foreign oppression. Today we win and consolidate the freedom and creativity of our people, from the dependence of debt and borrowing. We break these shackles. We eliminate the deficits of our economy. We restore the competitiveness of our production. We are paving the way for investments and develop the energy resources of our country.
"It's been almost two centuries since 1835, when Catherine-Georgia Plessas arrived in Sydney, Australia, as the first Greek immigrant, following her husband, Maj. James Crammer. Or 1842, when George Tramountanas came to Port Adelaide, South Australia, as the first Greek immigrant. Since then, many generations of Greeks sought a better future there forging unbreakable bonds of friendship between our countries.
"Nearly two centuries the Greeks of Australia excel in all sectors: professional, scientific, business, educational and artistic. We are proud of you. Like you're proud of Greece.
"Today we lay the foundations so that Greece can very soon make you even more proud. In a very few years, on the 200th anniversary of our Independence, our country will be stable, more prosperous, more competitive and more powerful than ever.
"This is not only my commitment. It is our duty.
"Day by day we give this fight and day-by-day we are wining it. We know that we have you on our side. And we know that you, the emigrant Hellenism, are the greatest power of Greece."
At a press conference a few days earlier in Brussels Samaras had noted that Greece's image in Europe is improving. The two days of the European Council had been very positive for the country's image, the Greek PM said. At the same time he underlined that Greece earned positive comments from all sides for the successful conclusion of negotiations with the troika of its international lenders, the primary surplus confirmation and the decisive promotion of reforms. “Everybody underlines that Greece has met its goals and we are turning a new page,” he said, adding that “we are moving forward and everything will be done in the way it should.”
On the agreement in principle as regards the banks' Single Resolution Mechanism, Samaras pointed that it is the most crucial step toward the EU banking union. According to him, this move will clear the way for the stabilisation of the Eurozone, through confidence in its banking system, safety of bank deposits and liquidity.
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