Samaras' letter to the Eurogroup, the ECB and IMF

The ND press office publicized the letter that Samaras sent to the EC, Eurogroup, ECB and IMF leaders, confirming protothema.gr’s story.

The letter contains Mr. Samaras' positions, as these have been expressed to the leaders of the EPP.

The new letter is a part of an earlier letter sent to EPP leaders. Specifically, the new letter is missing the original piece, in which Mr. Samaras referred to the political developments following the announcement of the referendum by Mr. George Papandreou, including a mention of elections on February 19 contained in the previous version.

Senior ND executives stated that “this letter will be accepted”, implying that they have made relevant agreements with Europeans and the PM. Mr. Samaras is awaiting a response from Mr. Papademos, who is continuing his contacts in Brussels and Luxembourg.


The letter reads as follows:

                                                                        Athens, November 23, 2011


As stated in the meeting of the three Party Leaders under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic C. Papoulias, “it has been agreed upon that the task of the new Government will be to enforce the decisions taken at the European Council of October 26th, 2011 and to implement the economic policies linked to those decisions”.

The new Prime Minister has already pledged to fulfill this task.

Nea Demokratia is committed to supporting the new Prime Minister.

Nea Demokratia is strongly committed to the success of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms, rebuilding market confidence and fostering economic growth.

Nea Demokratia fully supports the targets of fiscal adjustment, regarding all issues on eliminating the deficit and reversing the debt dynamics; it also supports “tools” already implemented (albeit poorly); namely, public expenditure cutting, fighting tax evasion, structural reforms, privatization programs and capitalizing on idle real estate public property.

On the evidence of the budget execution so far, we believe that certain policies have to be modified so as to guarantee the Program’s success. This is more so, since according to the latest European Economic forecasts, Greece in 2012 will be the only European country with 5 consecutive years in recession!

We intend to bring these issues up for discussion, along with viable policy alternatives, strictly within the framework outlined by the Program. We place great emphasis on allowing for prompt recovery, so that the public revenues generated will help us achieve the targets set.

We also attribute special emphasis to the implementation procedures, which have to be streamlined and upgraded.

The commitment of the Greek people and of Nea Demokratia to the European Union and the Euro is strong and irrevocable.

Nea Demokratia believes that Greece can get out of the crisis and safeguard its social cohesion.

We are committed to make that happen.

Sincerely,

Antonis C. Samaras
President of Nea Demokratia

However, any move by Samaras will be made after the formal briefing by the PM following meetings and discussions in the EU.

The new terms asked of Mr. Samaras have - however - already caused turmoil within the party, with members placing themselves against the letter.

Note that earlier, LAOS president Mr. Giorgos Karatzaferis stated that if Samaras does not sign the letter, he will not sign either.

On his part, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos estimated that within the day, political parties will do everything in their power to ensure the sixth installment.