Greece ‘on right path,’ says EU’s Juncker

Greece is on the right path to exit the crisis and must take ownership of the reforms program it has agreed with its official lenders, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker said on Tuesday.

“Today Greece is on the right path, results are encouraging,” Juncker told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens.

“The Greek government, parliament and the Greek people should have real ownership of the programs that are being applied,” Juncker said.

Welcoming him into his office at the Maximos Mansion, Tsipras called Juncker a “true friend of Greece and steady champion of the European ideal.”

“Greece can turn over a new page… towards just growth,” the Greek PM said.

The two men also addressed the challenges of the refugee crisis.

“I am taking the opportunity to express my admiration for the Greek people,” Juncker said. “An outside observer cannot know or imagine the burden they have had to shoulder… This is why no one should disparage them. I demand respect of the Greeks’ dignity,” Juncker said.

[Reuters/Combined reports]