French President Emmanuel Macron began the second day of his two-day visit to Greece on Friday by meeting with main opposition New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The center-right political leader told reporters afterwards that Macron’s visit demonstrates his “support for Greece, coming, in fact, at the beginning of his term, something that is particularly significant.”
In yet another bid to differentiate his party’s ideological stance from the current leftist-rightist coalition government, Mitsotakis burnished his pro-business and pro-reform credentials after the meeting with the very pro-European French president.
“Our position is clear: We believe in major reforms, which create opportunities and more jobs for all. We’re vying for a role as an equal partner in European developments for our country, and not as a beggar. We’ve (ND) actively supported Greek-French relations over the years; we’ll continue to do this in the future.”
In later comments during a televised interview with a local TV station and the state-run broadcaster, Macron said the EU must oppose any additional austerity measures that prevent Greece from returning to growth.
“The aim of my visit here is to turn the page in the story of the last 10 years; to exit the crisis. Greece is experiencing a recovery, it must continue efforts to combat unemployment and we must assist Greece’s recovery and its completion of the (bailout) program so it can return to dynamic growth,” he said.
