Chr. Staikouras: An additional budget of € 2 billion will be submitted next week.

We seek stability as the achievement of quick decisions is done by strong autonomous governments “, said in Parapolitika 90.1 the Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras.

In addition, he stressed that an additional budget of 2 billion euros will be submitted next week and clarified that the government will continue to support households and businesses as much as possible.

At the same time, Mr. Staikouras noted that the cash is at a safe level and said characteristically that the government is concerned that it will take the best measures to strengthen the middle class and vulnerable groups.

He also said that the reduction of ENFIA by 360 million euros is additional assistance. For the reduction of VAT on food, he stressed that it will depend on the fiscal space and that any interventions will end up in the consumer and will not be lost in the supply chain.

The Minister of Finance reiterated that the increase of the minimum wage should be brave and realistic. He went on to say that when we have external crises there is a risk of unfavorable developments in the real economy.

As for the fiscal targets in 2023, he noted that “we will see in May and how the macroeconomic situation in Europe is evolving”. Mr. Staikouras added that we need to be serious in pursuing fiscal policy in order to have primary surpluses.

The goal of abolition

It is worth noting that he left open the possibility of extending the VAT reduction to tourism and catering and said that the goal remains in 2023 to abolish the solidarity contribution for all and reduce insurance contributions.

He further noted that the government has acted in a timely manner for the recovery part of the Fund and said that high growth is not enough, as it should be sustainable.