In their capacity as Commissioners for Franco-German cooperation, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Werner Hoyer and his French counterpart State Secretary Pierre Lellouche will travel to Greece for talks on Thursday and Friday (24/25 June).

They will meet, among others, with the speaker of the Greek parliament, Philippos Petsalnikos, Economics Minister Louka Katseli, Finance Minister Giorgios Papaconstantinou as well as the deputy speaker of parliament and chairwoman of its Europe committee, Rodoula Zissi.

Minister of State Hoyer and State Secretary Lellouche issued the following statement today (23 June) on their visit:

“Our joint visit to Athens sends the clear message that Germany and France work hand in hand on European policy issues and live up to their responsibility in and for Europe. Over the last few months, our Greek friends have made enormous efforts, launching an impressive set of measures aimed at budget consolidation. Both European aid and the Greek reform efforts reflect our common responsibility for Europe.

Germany and France share the view that we need to take measures both at international and European level in order to guarantee stability and growth and to successfully defend against future attempts to undermine our common currency.”