NEWS

Samaras meets Development Minister Skrekas

Samaras meets Development Minister Skrekas

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday had a meeting with the government's new addition, Development and Competitiveness Minister Costas Skrekas, who took over the portfolio from Nikos Dendias after the latter transferred to the defence ministry.

In statements as he left the meeting, Skrekas underlined his determination to vindicate the prime minister's decision to select him for this position and said a first meeting with his predecessor to coordinate the handover had already taken place "so not a minute will be lost".

"Our primary concern are the reforms that will bring growth," he told reporters, adding that the main aim was to "utilise and multiply the efficiency of every euro, whether this comes from Greek tax payers or from Europe."

In a statement on his own appointment as defence minister, meanwhile, Dendias stressed that he fully appreciated "the weight of this responsibility, especially at this conjuncture," and expressed his confidence in Skrekas' ability to take over at the development ministry:
"Mr. Costas Skrekas is a young politician, with knowledge and ethics but also experience in the market. I am certain that he will be fully successful in his duties as development minister," he said.

Dendias took over the defence portfolio from Greece's new European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, who has now taken charge of migration and home affairs in the new European Commission.