Press Release
Jean-Claude Juncker meets his Greek counterpart, Kostas Karamanlis

Date of release : 17-03-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

During the working visit to Luxembourg of the Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas Karamanlis, the main items of discussion included the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, the mid-term review of the Lisbon Process, the financial perspectives of the Union, as well as relations between the European Union and Turkey.

The Greek head of Government, accompanied by the Minister for the National Economy and Finance, Georgios Alogoskoufis, and the Minister in charge of Communications Policy, Theodoros Roussopoulos, were welcomed by the Prime Minister and current President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, at the Senningen Château.

The Luxembourg Prime Minister outlined to his Greek counterpart the Luxembourg Presidency’s position in view of the meetings of the Eurogroup and the enlarged Eurogroup in Brussels on 20 March. These meetings will be dedicated to the reform of the Growth and  Stability Pact. Jean-Claude Juncker drew attention to the broad convergence of views that existed between the Presidency and the Greek Government: "We have not discovered any disagreement!" he stated.

Commenting to the press on the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy, Jean-Claude Juncker stated that "the basic foundation of the strategy, as adopted in Lisbon in 2000, must be maintained."

"Which means", said the President of the European Council, "that the strategy includes three dimensions - growth and competitiveness, employment and social cohesion, as well as the environment – and that the conclusions of the Presidency on the review of the strategy will take into account these three dimensions."

"What we have accomplished in Europe so far is not sufficient", said the Greek Prime Minister. Kostas Karamanlis explained that the Greek Government would concentrate its energy on fiscal stabilisation, stimulation of growth and improvement of education.

The other subject touched on by the two heads of Government was the financial perspectives of the Union for the period 2007 to 2013, a dossier which "the Luxembourg Presidency intends to conclude during the summit of the heads of State and Government in June 2005", said Prime Minister Juncker.

"Greece supports the Commission proposal, which is an acceptable and balanced position. The Commission proposal favours the promotion of  the common goals of Union", declared Prime Minister Karamanlis.

Having firmly supported the recent process of EU enlargement, the head of the Greek Government deemed it necessary that the costs of enlargement should be fairly distributed among all the Member States, and assured the Luxembourg Presidency of Greece’s full support in the conclusion of this dossier in June.

During the press conference, the two Prime Ministers also commented on relations between the European Union and Turkey, and especially the European persepctives of the country.

Jean-Claude Juncker and Kostas Karamanlis both agreed that Turkey should now take the necessary measures to meet the criteria set out by the European Council, including the signature of the Ankara Protocol. "Turkey has committed itself to signing the Ankara Protocol", outlined Jean-Claude Juncker, while emphasizing that: "The quicker it signs the Protocol, the better it will be for Turkey and the European Union". The two Prime Ministers concluded that Turkey should begin to prove that it is adopting and assimilating, step by step, European standards on all levels.