The minutes from the Council of Political Leaders held on July 6, 2015, have finally been made public after a recent request. The current President of Greece, Konstantinos Tasoulas, responded to former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s demand for their release. This historic meeting took place the day after the July 5 referendum in which Greek voters rejected austerity measures proposed by creditors (the ‘No’ vote). The council was convened under then-President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and included leaders from SYRIZA, New Democracy (ND), PASOK, Potami, KKE, and Independent Greeks—parties that formed the coalition government at the time.
The publication of these minutes, exclusively obtained by in.gr and presented on MEGA’s show “Exelixeis Tora” with Natascha Yiamali, reveals over 100 pages of transcribed discussions. These documents offer an unprecedented look into the political strategies employed during one of Greece’s most turbulent economic periods.
During the session, Tsipras sought consensus ahead of the critical July 7, 2015, EU Summit. Notably, the recording paused only when private phone calls were made: Pavlopoulos spoke with French President François Hollande, while Tsipras contacted German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The content of those calls remains undisclosed, as stenographers were instructed to turn off the microphones during those moments.
Tsipras outlined his counter-proposal to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, including five major reforms and two strategic additions: reduced VAT in islands, pension adjustments, EKAS benefits, farmer taxation, and collective bargaining rights. He emphasized that “austerity measures unacceptable to society, without corrections, without guaranteed funding, without debt restructuring, is a recipe for failure.”
Pavlopoulos clarified that regardless of personal referendum votes, the issue was never about leaving the Eurozone. He stressed that the overwhelming majority of political forces supported Greece’s continued presence in Europe and the Eurozone.
Meanwhile, Vangelis Meimarakis, then-leader of ND, criticized creditor pressure and recalled intense negotiations from late 2014. In a tense exchange with Tsipras, he acknowledged that many within his party voted ‘No’ because they believed a deal would come quickly.
In response to the publication, SYRIZA issued a statement Sunday night, accusing current Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of trying to rewrite history. They argued that the released minutes prove Tsipras and his government acted with patriotism to secure a sustainable agreement and keep Greece in the Euro, ultimately achieving success by mid-2018.