President Dalia Grybauskaitė, who is attending the emergency meeting, underlined that in order to deal with the difficulties, Greece had to fulfill its obligations and live according to its means. She pointed out that you could not demand money from others while sitting back and doing nothing.
"The Greek economy is now in a very dangerous situation that affects its own people the worst. This is the result of irresponsible several-generation polices. The Greek government needs to understand that to overcome the crisis, you need to put your shoulders together, implement reforms and live within your means," the President said.
She noted that if Greece had complied with its obligations in good faith, instead of blackmailing the euro zone countries and waiting passively for solutions, the situation would have already been under control.
According to the President, Lithuania and other EU countries also faced serious difficulties in 2008-2009, but they introduced urgent austerity measures and addressed the situation successfully. Responsible fiscal policies helped to overcome the crisis and allowed the economy to recover.
Greece's failure to reach an agreement with international creditors – the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – would put the country on the brink of insolvency. Greece needs to repay 1.5 billion euros to the IMF at the end of June. Its total debt has reached 177 percent of the country's GDP.
