Greek PM cannot attend EU summit

Greece's new Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will not be well enough to travel to a critical European Union summit in Brussels after undergoing an eye operation, the government said on Sunday.

Samaras, 61, underwent surgery for a detached retina on Saturday, just three days after being sworn in at the head of a three-party coalition government formed after two inconclusive general elections.

The doctor treating the prime minister, Panagiotis Theodosiadis, has ruled out him being able to travel to Brussels for the summit on Thursday and Friday, government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said.

Samaras has appointed new Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos to head the Greek delegation at the meeting, Kedikoglou said.

Avramopoulos will be accompanied by outgoing Finance Minister Yorgos Zannias, Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis.

Incoming Finance Minister Vassilis Rapanos will also miss the summit, since he is still hospitalized following a faint episode and stomach disorder on Friday.

The new government' primary goal is to renegotiate aspects of the bailout agreements with international creditors and keep debt-laden Greece within the eurozone. According to NET Greek state television, the EU-IMF delegation of auditors' visit to Athens initially scheduled for Monday has been postponed for a week due to Samaras' and Rapanos' health conditions.

Greece breached the rules of its EU-IMF loan agreement by taking on some 70,000 public sector staff in two years, undermining efforts to reduce the state payroll, a report said on Sunday.

AP-Xinhua