By John Phillips
ROME
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi told his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday in Italy that he “strongly believes” an agreement can be found between Athens and the European Union but insisted Italy and Greece must focus on “structural reforms.”
“I passed my first year as prime minister accused of being a dangerous man of the left in the EU and in Italy a dangerous man of the right,” Renzi joked at a press conference after the two held talks in Rome. “For me, the arrival of Alexis is a blessing.”
“Greece and Italy share being superpowers of the culture of the past and we want to work for a Europe that is its real self,” Renzi added.
Tsipras, for his part, said that “change is necessary in Europe, we need to bring social cohesion and growth in the place of policies of fear and uncertainty.”
Renzi said: “We have the same age but we come from different experiences and we belong to different political families, but we have in common the idea of restoring to politics the possibility of changing things.”
Greece could "see the end of our financial crisis by June," the country's new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said after meeting with his Italian counterpart, Pier Carlo Padoan.
Exiting the crisis "can be done, provided that in Europe, we all calm down," he said.
"We need a bridge agreement that gives us time," he added. "Our crisis will end quickly. In Europe, we all want a solution."
Greece and Italy share a "common interest" in achieving sustainable growth through structural reforms, Padoan said.
"Our countries share a common interest, we are convinced of the importance for Greece (to follow) a path of strong and sustainable growth through a clear program of structural reforms," said Padoan after he met with Varoufakis.
