The anti-austerity European tour of the new Greek government continues: today Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met in Rome with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi, who in the joint press conference at the end of the meeting expressed optimism for Athens' cause at the EU . “I think the conditions are there to find a point of understanding with the European institutions,” Renzi said.
The Italian premier added, commenting on the outcome of the Greek general elections: "We all need to read in the result of the Greek elections the message of hope that comes from an entire generation of people who are asking for more attention regarding the interest in who is experiencing the crisis”. In his speech, Tsipras also emphasized the need for "change" in Europe: "We need to bring social cohesion and growth instead of the politics of fear and uncertainty".
"Ours is the path of logic - continued Tsipras - against the wrong political choices of recent years". “It's right to keep the numbers under control – echoed Renzi -: but the future is not built on rigor. It takes growth, education, culture”. In the morning, the Greek premier was preceded in Italy by his finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who met his Italian colleague Padoan.
The owner of via XX Settembre underlined after the meeting that “our countries share a common interest: we are both convinced of the importance of Greece placing itself on a path of strong and sustainable growth through a clear program of structural reforms. Attention to growth is a priority to ensure the sustainability of the Greek debt and to create new jobs in the country and thus contribute to relieving the Greek people of the social unease produced by the crisis”. A message of support therefore for the easing of the blood and tears plans asked of Athens in exchange for international aid. But the lure of
Padoan to the centrality of the European institutions: “The European Union is a place where solidarity and responsibility are concrete principles that are exercised jointly. The Eurogroup and Ecofin are the institutional forums where each Member State can discuss and address its own problems, trusting in the possibility of finding common solutions in the interest of all", says the minister thus indicating that the path of unilateral solutions is wrong.
