European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker visited Greece on 26 April and during his historic visit was the first Commission president to ever address the Greek Parliament. Juncker noted that after eight trying years of the economic adjustment programme, Greece will soon be ready to open a new chapter in its recent history. He commended Greece for its strong commitment to the economic adjustment programmes and for implementing a large part of the, often painful, reforms, including those addressing areas including pensions, social security, the labour market, administration, civil service, banking and finance, taxation, and education. Juncker also applauded the spectacular recovery of public finances, with a deficit that went from more than 15% in 2009 to a budget surplus in 2016. The European Fund for Strategic Investments, part of the Juncker Plan, has also been an astounding success. It has mobilized EUR 284 billion to date in investments including EUR 9.2 billion in Greece. With Greece due to exit the third support programme in August, Juncker asked the country to implement all the reforms that have been decided and to pursue sound economic and fiscal policies in order to establish a sustainable, job-creating recovery.