There are certain moments in the history of a nation when the choices made define the decades to come.

Greece's history in the drachma was an up-and-down history, a roller coaster.

I can officially state that my government and myself believe that all over Europe we need to open a debate on the 'drug question' in order to create more coherent and human policies with better perspectives. . . . The policy of criminalizing consumers has failed, creating many problems to our society.

Very often, people will come out and say, 'Greeks aren't doing things, Greeks aren't making changes, there's no reform,' That is hogwash. We have made a huge effort. The Greek people have made a huge effort.

I will always be upfront with the Greek people, so we can solve the country's problems together.

First of all, Greece won't go down. We're talking about a country that is capable of making change. Europe will not allow the destabilization of the 27-country euro zone. But if there were no action, then markets would start becoming jittery about other countries - and not only Spain and Portugal, but other countries in the European Union.

I would like to see Greece as a case study, an opportunity for Europe to strengthen its coordination of fiscal policy.