"We are very close to recovery, we are now determined to recover. That is the message," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday, during their meeting at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall.

The Greek economy is expected to start recovering in the second half of 2016 as confidence will rise and exports will maintain their dynamism, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced on Monday.

“We have proven all doomsayers wrong - Greece showed it can succeed and has become a symbol for the resilience of Europe,” Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Wednesday during his address at the European Parliament.