State minister Pappas: Brexit would be a very negative development

He said even the fact that a country the size of Britain has called a referendum on such a question is a negative development, adding that the cost of the country’s withdrawal from the EU would be huge and those who claim otherwise are “naïve”. 

Pappas also described as “naïve” those who last summer “played with fire” by promoting a Greek exit from the Eurozone. “At any rate, it is interesting to watch the same people pleading with Britain not to leave [the EU] which does not even have the same currency,” he said. The minister pointed out that this year, there are no longer any uncertainties concerning Greece’s stay in the European project, which is not the case on the side of the continent.  

Greece is now entering a period where it is emerging as a solution for Europe and not as a problem, he said. “The agreement with our partners has been finalized, is being implemented and the Greek economy is doing better than what many expected,” Pappas added, noting that “things could be even better” if disagreements between the institutions hadn’t delayed the completion of the program review.

“We won’t speak of a success story when unrealistic agreements had been signed on surpluses. But we say that along with the self-evident political stability, the economy is also stabilizing," he said.

If Britain votes to leave the European Union it would be a very negative development, State Minister Nikos Pappas said on Wednesday, as he opened his speech at an Economist conference in Athens. 
He said even the fact that a country the size of Britain has called a referendum on such a question is a negative development, adding that the cost of the country’s withdrawal from the EU would be huge and those who claim otherwise are “naïve”. 
Pappas also described as “naïve” those who last summer “played with fire” by promoting a Greek exit from the Eurozone. “At any rate, it is interesting to watch the same people pleading with Britain not to leave [the EU] which does not even have the same currency,” he said. The minister pointed out that this year, there are no longer any uncertainties concerning Greece’s stay in the European project, which is not the case on the side of the continent.  
Greece is now entering a period where it is emerging as a solution for Europe and not as a problem, he said. “The agreement with our partners has been finalized, is being implemented and the Greek economy is doing better than what many expected,” Pappas added, noting that “things could be even better” if disagreements between the institutions hadn’t delayed the completion of the program review.
“We won’t speak of a success story when unrealistic agreements had been signed on surpluses. But we say that along with the self-evident political stability, the economy is also stabilizing," he said.