The former President of the European Commission and former President of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker.
In a particularly warm discussion, the Finance Ministers had the opportunity to hear firsthand the insights of one of the politicians who has been at the center of the most significant European decisions in recent decades. Jean-Claude Juncker shared his knowledge and accumulated experience, contributing to a substantive dialogue on the challenges facing Europe today, the relevant announcement notes.
Jean-Claude Juncker’s presence at the Eurogroup also carried strong emotional symbolism. The man who, like few others, was identified with the most difficult moments of the European economic crisis and who consistently stood by Greece, returned for the first time to a Eurogroup meeting since his departure from active European politics.
Kyriakos Pierrakakis and Jean-Claude Juncker spoke to ERT’s camera and reporter Eleni Apostolidou in an atmosphere of mutual respect and emotion.
Jean-Claude Juncker: It is a pleasure to be here tonight. I served, I believe, as President of the Eurogroup for eight years, and this is the first time since I left the Eurogroup and the European Commission that I have been invited to a Eurogroup meeting, even an informal one. I thank Kyriakos, the Greek Minister of Finance. I have always had a special relationship with Greek Finance Ministers—not always the best, but certainly a special one.
So I am happy—more than happy—that Greece is a member of the Eurozone. I fought hard to make this a reality. No one would have believed, years ago, that the day would come when a Greek Minister of Finance would be at the helm of the Eurogroup. And now he is there. And I am very happy about that.
Kyriakos Pierrakakis: Thank you very much. With your permission, I will speak in Greek, as we are addressing Greek public television. As you said, you know everything about Greece, except for the language. So I will repeat what I said in Greek.
In my capacity as President of the Eurogroup, I invited Jean-Claude Juncker to the informal dinner of Eurozone Finance Ministers to discuss the full range of challenges ahead of us and to draw lessons from his wisdom and his wealth of experience in crisis management during particularly difficult and demanding times.
For every European, Jean-Claude Juncker is a truly great political figure who played a decisive role in a series of crises and in a series of decisions that had to be made. But I think we can all agree that for Greece, Jean-Claude Juncker means so much more. Because he is a man who, through his roles—whether as President of the Eurogroup or as President of the European Commission—believed in Greece at a time and under circumstances when few, if any, others did.
History has proven him right. We are here because history has proven him right.
Greece overcame the crisis, returned to recovery, and managed to achieve a great deal. It is now at the table where European decisions are made. And I think I speak for all Greeks when I say that Jean-Claude Juncker holds a very special place in our hearts.