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Friday June 29, 2012

Greece asks EU payback for ‘sacrifices’, says report


ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras asked European Union (EU) partners yesterday to “respond to sacrifices” by recession-hit Greeks, and seek changes to the conditions of a second EU-International Monetary Fund bailout, a report said.

The top-selling daily Ta Nea said that Samaras, who is recovering from eye surgery and will miss an EU summit in Brussels, made the call in a letter delivered by President Carolos Papoulias, who will represent Greece.

Papoulias, who flew economy class to Brussels, had already delivered a copy of the letter to EU President Herman Van Rompuy, Greek reports said.

The full contents of the letter have not been made public.

But according to government sources, the newly-elected conservative premier argues that Greece’s latest rescue package, which provides Athens with an additional 130 billion euros (US$163bil), must be revised to take into account a greater-than-expected recession, Ta Nea said.

On the other hand, Samaras insisted that he would “honour” Greek pledges to overhaul the economy, slash the deficit and control a runaway debt of over 350 billion euros, Ethnos daily said.

Samaras heads a three-party coalition put in place after June 17 elections with the aim of renegotiating Greece’s bailout by placing more emphasis on growth to overcome a five-year recession. — AFP

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