Interview: Foreign Minister Droutsas in the Spanish daily “El Mundo”

Journalist: How do you think the economic problems are affecting Greece’s international image?

Mr. Droutsas: When Prime Minister Papandreou’s government was elected in October 2009, Greece’s economic problems – which came to the fore in the context of the global economic crisis – were compounded by a crisis of credibility.

Over the last year and a half, we – the Greek government and especially the Greek people – have regained our credibility through the recovery and reform programme we are implementing and the great sacrifices the Greek people are making; sacrifices that have been recognized by all our partners.

We succeeded in cutting our deficit by five percentage points last year. We put through the necessary – though very painful – reforms in the social security system, and we revamped our public administration system, cutting expenditure significantly. We are now forging ahead with the rest of our recovery programme, including extensive privatizations.

Journalist: The Greek crisis is viewed in various ways inside Europe, where some leaders think that Athensshould be left alone and should try to solve its own problems without any help from the outside. What do you think of this approach? What would happen if Greece were left alone?

Mr. Droutsas: Abandoning Greece – abandoning the concept of European solidarity – is not an approach. It is a pose that some politicians feel they have to strike to pander to public opinion – misinformed public opinion – in their constituencies. No European politician really believes Greece can be “left alone”. The fact is, Greece is not alone. And this is a very European fact. There are 27 partners in the EU, 17 of whom belong to the Euro Group. At the same time, Greece has made it very clear from the outset that it is not looking for handouts. Greece doesn’t accept charity. We will put our house in order and pay our debt to the last cent.

Journalist: What effects would a Greek bankruptcy have in the European Union?

Mr. Droutsas: I am the Foreign Minister of Greece, so I will leave the fear-mongering to the Cassandras, of which there is no shortage in Greece or abroad.

I don’t think it can be made any clearer to our European and international partners that Greece is not looking for a free ride. And we certainly aren’t getting one.

Restructuring, haircuts, default, bankruptcy – all these are terms used by some, but they are not going to happen.

There are however, more important terms: social security reform, tax reform, streamlined public administration, expenditure cuts, privatizations. The difference is that Greece and the Greek people are converting the second set of terms into actions, facts, results, recovery.

Journalist: A year and a half ago, the Greek Government set a tough package of economic measures to try to reduce the public debt. They haven’t had all the results that you expected. What went wrong?

Mr. Droutsas: The fact is, after a year and a half, we have the first significant results, and we are continuing our all-out effort to emerge from the crisis. I cannot stress too much that these results have come at the cost of great sacrifices. So – following up from your previous question – what Greece really needs right now is to feel certain again that it is not walking down this difficult path alone.

Journalist: The Government has just announced a new massive program of privatizations with which it hopes to get 50 billion euros and that have come in for criticism from some ministers, for patriotic motives. What do you think about this program?

Mr. Droutsas: Capitalization on public assets is one of the basic components of our programme, because it will contribute decisively to reducing the public debt.

In a democracy, it is the job of opposition parties to oppose, to test the other side and ensure transparency and sound policy in decision-making. But invoking patriotism to oppose this programme is just political pandering.

We are preparing this privatization programme very carefully. I can assure foreign investors that whoever invests in our country will profit in the end.

Journalist: What would you say to foreign investors to persuade them to invest in Greece?

Mr. Droutsas: If I had 20 seconds to convince someone to invest in Greece, I would say three things:

·       Greece is putting its house in order, and this is creating opportunities for everyone – everyone involved inGreece’s economic rebirth is going to benefit.

·       There is something for every investor: tourism, energy, transport, telecommunications. Name your sector.

·       You will have the full support of the Greek government – not just now, with our “Fast Track” system for streamlining the investment process so there are no delays in getting your enterprise up and running, but also in the future: Greece’s future as a highly competitive and cutting-edge marketplace.

Journalist: Portugal and Spain are also having economic problems. Is this a Mediterranean crisis?

Mr. Droutsas: Spain and Portugal are under a great deal of pressure from capital markets, ratings agencies – as is Ireland. And all of these countries are facing high unemployment rates and lack of growth.

But to call this a Mediterranean crisis would be misleading. Every case is different, even though the crisis has been exacerbated by a number of common factors, including profiteering in capital markets.

In terms of how it can be confronted and, hopefully, resolved, this crisis is European, and by this I mean that the European dimension of the problem needs to be made clear. The crisis is not the exclusive problem of the countries hardest hit so far. It would be a huge mistake in the present circumstances to become entrenched in national self-interest, which in any case runs counter to the basic principles and the core values of the European Vision. Solidarity amongst the members of the EU is imperative if we are to successfully meet the challenges ahead.

Journalist: Is the crisis forcing Greece to cut its international missions? In Libya, for example, what role are you playing?

Mr. Droutsas: Beyond cutting costs – through consolidating consular missions, for example – we are also focussing on value for money: we want every euro that we spend on our presence abroad to work towards furthering our national interests, our interests as a member of the EU, our interests as a member of the international community.

Libya is an excellent example. Greece was instrumental in evacuating European and third-country nationals when the Libyan crisis broke out, accommodating thousands of people in Crete. We are supporting the UN-mandated NATO operations by providing facilities for our allies, and we are sending humanitarian aid.

Foreign Minister Droutsas in the Spanish daily “El Mundo” with journalist Irene H. Velasco (29 May 2011)

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