The Greek-German Chamber organized a traditional New Year’s Eve dinner in Athens tonight in honor of its members, partners and friends and in the presence of high-ranking representatives of the political, diplomatic, business and banking worlds.

The event was welcomed by the President of the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Vassilios GounarisCEO Athanasios KelemisMinister of Education, Ms. N. Kerameos in which they highly appreciated the cooperation with the Chamber, especially in matters of dual education and the Minister of Development Adonis Georgiades which highlighted Germany’s contribution during the Greek crisis. As part of the event, honorary awards were presented to former members of the Board of Directors of the Chamber.

In his greeting at the New Year’s event of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the new representative of the Hellenic German Assembly, Mr. Guerin Bartol he wished for a healthy, successful and, above all, peaceful year, because a brutal war still rages in the heart of Europe. “My wishes are all the more timely that the photos of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria have caused us deep sadness. The solidarity shown by Greece is impressive, while it was also recognized in Germany,” he said characteristically.

The central speaker of the event was the governor of the Bank of Greece. Yannis Sturnaras who in his speech mentioned “Challenges for the Greek and European Economy”:

Regarding the Greek economy, he said: “I would like to formulate an optimistic thought. The Greek economy is now on a positive, albeit difficult, path. Although he faces several major challenges, he seems to have a drive to overcome obstacles. A similar assessment of European integration. Here, too, the road will be long, but not impassable. We, the citizens of a united Europe, will have to fight to achieve our goals and act proactively, not retroactively, as Suppliers, not as Recipients.

He said about the eurozoneThe biggest risk we collectively face in the eurozone is that we will reform too little, too late.. We need to act early and early (i.e. before another major crisis erupts), with decisive, measured and well-planned reforms at the eurozone level, in a spirit of cooperation and give and take, in the context of what has been said before. These changes will make our economies more resilient, give the euro greater acceptance as the world’s reserve currency, and lay the foundation for sustainable and lasting prosperity for all eurozone citizens.

The adoption of the euro represents a federal form of government in Europe. Moreover, the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem represent the most advanced form of unified governance in the euro area, which can serve as a guide to the rest of the major problems of the European Union. The path to full European integration is still long and difficult. But anything less than this will lead to the gradual marginalization of Europe and the loss of the well-being of its citizens. Therefore, we must focus on our goal: a united Europe of freedom, security, prosperity and democracy.”

With information from APE-MPE