European credit for a Greek success story” in the Eurozone Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during his meeting with the president of the Eurogroup Pascal Donahue.

Mr. Donahue characteristically mentioned that the performance of the Greek economy is now one of the most positive stories in the eurozone, and that Greek growth is above the European average.

“We also see the beginning of deflation in your economy” he noted.

For his part, the prime minister emphasized, among other things, that growth is predicted to be significantly higher than the eurozone average, while still and inflation is finally coming down.

“For the first time we are seeing real price reductions, especially in the supermarket, which is of great concern to us, because the issue of the cost of living was very painful, especially for households that are struggling to make ends meet” pointed out the prime minister.

The Mitsotakis-Donakhiou dialogue in detail (unofficial English translation):

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Thank you very much for coming. You are always welcome. This is certainly a good time to discuss economic issues of Europe and Greece. The European elections are over. We have made our choices for the top positions and we hope that the choice of the new President of the European Commission will be approved by the European Parliament.

As far as we are concerned, we are working hard. As you know, we have three years ahead of us, based on the mandate we received from the citizens a year ago. I believe the economy is making good progress. Growth is forecast to be significantly higher than the eurozone average. Even inflation is finally coming down. Today we have some positive news. For the first time we are seeing real price reductions, especially in the supermarket, which is of great concern to us because the cost of living issue has been very painful, especially for households struggling to make ends meet. We have new challenges ahead of us, but I think overall we are satisfied with the progress.

I also look forward to our discussion on the new fiscal rules and how they will affect Greece. One last point: as you know, we remain absolutely committed to fiscal stability, which we have been essentially implementing for the past few years. We are pleased to see that this is also recognized at the European level.

Pascal Donahue: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much for the opportunity to meet. It is always a great honor to visit you. I want to recognize and congratulate you on the excellent performance of the Greek economy. Your Minister of Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, has become another excellent colleague of mine and is doing an excellent job representing the Greek economy and the Greek people at the Eurogroup.

The performance of the Greek economy is now one of the most positive stories in the eurozone. Your country’s growth is above the European average. For some time now, you have been achieving a primary surplus in your budget. We are also seeing the beginning of deflation in your economy.

It is very pleasant to have the opportunity to be here, to meet Kostis and to discuss the work of the next years. Thank you again for the difference you are making to the performance of Europe’s economy.