Athens, 20 August 2022 (dpa/MIA) – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday celebrated the end of the European Commission's "enhanced surveillance" over the country's finances after almost 12 years. He called August 20, 2022, a "historic day for Greece and all Greeks." The release from the EU's curatorship had earlier been approved by the finance ministers of eurozone countries and by European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. The commissioner on Saturday also praised the efforts made by the population and a succession of governments. "Thanks to the sacrifices and resilience of its people and the determination of the authorities, Greece today closes a difficult chapter in its long and proud history," he said in a statement. According to Gentiloni, the country's achievements were "even more commendable" in the light of "two severe external shocks: the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine." The president of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, called the end of the surveillance "a major achievement for the Greek government & citizens," in a post on Twitter. The measures were imposed after Greece went through a severe financial crisis starting in 2010 and had to implement tough austerity measures under pressure from its creditors. Greeks, many of whom saw the steps imposed by outsiders as heartless, lost around 25% of their income in the process. But since 2018 Athens has increasingly been standing on its own two feet financially. Misotakis vowed the past mistakes, which ultimately led to the financial crisis, would not be repeated, even without the external monitoring. He also announced wage increases and tax cuts, but said they should not undermine efforts to balance the country's finances.