But debt level issue still on the table

By neurope.eu

The College of Commissioners and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy were all in Greece today, the member state most affected by the eurocrisis, as Athens took over the Presidency of the Council  of the European Union for the fifth time since its 1981 accession. Guests and hosts alike presented a united, optimistic face.

“I am very pleased to be here in Athens as Greece embarks on its fifth Council presidency – making it a very experienced pilot of the European Union,” said Commission President Manuel Barroso.

“Let's not forget that not so much time ago, people were making speculations about Greek exit, about the implosion of the euro, also about the implosion of the European Union.

So, the very fact that we are here in Athens today, celebrating the beginning of the Greek presidency – of a full member of the European Union, and a full member of the euro area – is clear evidence that those predictions were wrong. And that Greece was able to make notable efforts – namely, the Greek people – and that the euro area economy has shown its resilience and that, basically, we are on the right track,” Barroso added.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy’s statement was also along the same lines.

“The start of this new year can hopefully also be a new start for Greece and for Europe,” he said. “Last year we put the existential crisis of the euro zone behind us. I hope that in 2014 we can finally leave the worst economic crisis in our living memory behind us”

"Greece, with great sacrifices, leaves the crisis behind it," pointed out Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Earlier, the country’s Finance Minister, Yiannis Stournaras, said that Greeks should begin to feel the impact of the steps the Greek economy has been making.

"No other country during peacetime has achieved as much as Greece has achieved since 2009," Stournaras said.

"People should this year begin to feel the impact in their pockets and in their everyday lives."

However, the question of what to do with Greece’s mammoth debt remains. Even though Foreign Minister and former Finance Minister Vangelis Venizelos said no request for a “haircut” has been made, he added that Greece  wants “a serious technical discussion about how to make the debt sustainable in the long term."