Brussels, 19/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - France will encourage French companies to buy up state companies as part of the privatisation programme in Greece, promised the French president, François Hollande, on Tuesday 19 February at a joint press conference in Athens with the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras. Hollande said there was confidence in the action taken by the new Greek government over the past few months, but representatives of the troika of lenders (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) said in December that the privatisation process was taking too long to get off the ground.
Samaras welcomed the support from France to escape from the crisis, pointing out that France had backed Greece's entry into the European Union and the eurozone and had also given it aid to ensure it remained a member. The French president said that the battle to keep Greece in the eurozone had been won. He praised the huge efforts of the Greek people, suffering from unemployment of over 25%. No other people have suffered such a test, he said, adding that there was the need for more growth in Europe, growth that will help countries meet their public deficit reductions targets, admitting that France would not achieve the forecast 0.8% target. Hollande's visit to Greece stands in contrast to the visit of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in December, which had been greeted by angry demonstrations. Samaras said that Europe meant choosing to unite. (EL/transl.fl)