The results of the upcoming general elections on Sunday will determine the future of the country in coming decades, its strategic orientation, not just which government will come to power, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos stressed while addressing the last cabinet meeting to be held by the current government on Wednesday.

"For this reason, I believe that public debate must focus on a better understanding of reality. But I am certain that the decisions of the citizens will look toward the future, not the past," he added, thanking the ministers for their cooperation and the work that was carried out.

According to Papademos, the government's main mission had been achieved and Greece had avoided the imminent risk of default while at the same time establishing the best possible conditions - though even these were extremely difficult - for continuing the effort to restore and restructure the economy.

The prime minister stressed that the present government had also proved that ideological and political differences were set aside for the good of the country and he noted that the government's achievements included 48 acts of legislation, with 70 percent of Greece's obligations under the Memorandum completed by the end of April, another 25 percent on the verge of completion barring a few details and only 5 percent not carried out

During its final meeting, the cabinet formally ratified an Act of Cabinet allowing the Financial Stability Fund to sign contracts with the EFSF for a bridge recapitalisation of Greece's four largest banks (National Bank, Alpha Bank, Eurobank and Piraeus Bank), who will be offered funds worth 18 billion euros in the form of EFSF bonds.

This capital will be used to allow banks to maintain access to the European Central Bank’s funding operations. In a later stage, these capital will be replaced with common shares or convertible bonds, depending on the final decision of a bank recapitalization plan.

The cabinet meeting was followed by an inner cabinet meeting focusing on reforms in public administration, during which Administrative Reform and e-Government Minister Dimitris Reppas outlined the progress of a public-sector evaluation by French consultants.