PM Samaras presents Greek presidency to EU parliament

Mr Samaras presented the Greek EU presidency's priorities, saying that "Greece showed it can do it. Greece has become the symbol that Europe endures, that Europe is going on, and that it can."

Speaking of Greece's success in financial terms, he made special mention of the primary surplus achieved for the first time in 2013, while he said Greece expected to enter recovery in 2014 after six years of recession.

Giving a brief outline of Greece's agenda, the prime minister stressed the need to focus on growth and employment, by setting the strategy for the 2014-2010 period, and improving the growth rates of specific sectors like transportation, energy, shipping and tourism. The European market must complete its integration, foreign trade supported, the euro currency strengthened and the banking union completed, among others.

The main priority of the Greek EU presidency is promoting financing of the real economy, especially small and medium sized entreprises. We have to work hard and adopt the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), which is a crucial pillar of the Banking Union, he said.

The issue of illegal migration must also be dealt with by a comprehensive plan including solidarity, border protection, a fairer share of responsibility among EU member-states, and measures to return migrants to their countries. Fighting human trafficking is necessary, the PM noted.

The presidency will also seek to revive the Union's sea transportation, and find new ways to cover needs in security and energy, including taking advantage of seabed sources. Strategic partnerships must be strengthtened so that the region provides stability, peace and growth, reflecting our principles and values, he added.

He also referred to the European enlargement especially regarding Western Balkans countries. "The accession process of countries in this region has acquired over the last two years a clear momentum thanks to the accession of Croatia, the beginning of accession negotiations with Montenegro and the candidate status to Serbia," he said.

Greece was tried because of the mistakes made that were continued for decades, structural deficits in the EU and by mistakes made during the planning of the first fiscal adjustment programme, such as the mathematical factoring used which underestimated recession. "Greece survived and is now overcoming its problems, entering the path of fiscal halth and revival," he said.

Concluding his speech with remarks in English, Samaras said, "As a political nation, as a single market, Europe is a super power of a global vision....Now Europe is being transformed, to not just a common institutional framework for all its countries, but to a common identity and a common conscience for all its people."