Mourners lined the streets outside Athens’ central cathedral for the state funeral for former Prime Minister Costas Simitis, the architect of Greece’s joining the European Union’s common currency.

Greek former prime minister Costas Simitis, the architect of the country's eurozone entry, was laid to rest Thursday in a state funeral. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an address at the funeral that Simitis will be remembered for "his unwavering belief in (Greece's) European orientation and his constant effort for Greece to converge with the most developed,

Mr. Simitis imposed financial measures to prepare for Greece’s entry into the eurozone and laid the groundwork for the Olympic Games’ return to Athens.

The funeral for the former Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis will be held on Thursday, 9 January, at 12pm at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.

Greeks bid farewell on Thursday to former prime minister Costas Simitis, a law professor and reformist, who died last week at the age of 88 and was praised for steering Greece into the European Union's single currency in 2001.

Costas Simitis, the reformist prime minister whose governments oversaw Greece's eurozone entry, helped Cyprus join the EU and planned for the Athens 2004 Olympics, died Sunday at the age of 88.

During his tenure, Simitis managed a period of economic reform, steering the country through changes and stabilizing the Greek economy.