Mitsotakis-Merkel talks in Berlin on Thursday
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Greek Prime Minister will be in Berlin on Thursday for a closely watched meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with the agenda to include issues such as more direct investments to thrice bailed-out country and his new center-right government's plan to implement reforms.
Unofficially, however, and despite "radio silence" by the new center-right government in Athens over the subject, Mitsotakis and his top ministers have repeatedly cited the need to reduce fiscal targets that the Greek state must meet until 2022, namely, an annual 3.5-percent primary budget surplus (as a percentage of GDP).
In a bid to avoid speculation back in Athens, government sources on Wednesday - the day Mitsotakis departed for Berlin - made clear that the Greek leader would not broach issues that can only be decided by European institutions and within the Eurogroup framework. Conversely, the same sources said Athens wants to discuss security and cooperation in southeast Europe and the role of Greece in the wider region.
The meeting will mark the first time that a Greek prime minister has travelled to Berlin since January 2013, when then PM Antonis Samaras held mostly unmemorable talks with German leadership. Specifically, government sources cited the ongoing specter of illegal immigration faced by Greece and relations with Turkey as being top issues up for discussion.
Besides Merkel, Mitsotakis will also be received by German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.
