PM tells FAZ he will call for investments, not lower primary surplus target
Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he does not intend to ask for a reduction of Greece’s primary surplus target in his meeting with the German Chancellor in Berlin on Thursday, according to an interview published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The post-bailout target set by Greece’s lenders is for a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of GDP.
“I will not devote most of my meeting with the Chancellor on these issues. Because I know the answer: it is up to the institutions to decide,” he was quoted as saying in a question of whether he will seek the Chancellor’s agreement to reduce it.
He said he does not like the image of Greek premiers coming to Berlin with a long list of demands. “After all, it doesn't work.”
Instead, Mitsotakis said he prefers to discuss bilateral economic relations, migration and relations with Turkey.
He also said his primary aim in his first visit to Berlin as prime minister is to attract German investors to Greece.
“We need foreign investments and we need a lot of them. They have to come from many directions, including Germany. This is why I’m coming to Berlin,” he was quoted as sating by the paper.
