Chr. Staikouras: Optimistic for Greek economy and with assurances that support measures will continue

The Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras, appeared optimistic about the course of the Greek economy, assuring at the same time that the government will continue to support businesses and households with concrete measures, through a responsible and realistic fiscal policy.

Responding to a topical question from KINAL MP Michalis Katrini, who pointed out that “debts, price increases and reduced turnovers threaten the market and lead to suffocation of Greek households in the midst of a pandemic”, Mr. Staikouras countered that the government is moving in four directions. tackling the crisis which is:

– reduction of taxes and insurance contributions

– aid measures to deal with the pandemic
– measures to address energy accuracy

– arrangements to facilitate lending.

“The reality confirms the outlook for the Greek economy. Greece has the third highest recovery position for 2021, appears with consistently high sustainable economic indicators and the highest rate of investment and exports, while the unemployment rate continues to decline,” he said. He added: “This is due to the timely package of support we have provided. We are the fourth country internationally and the third in Europe for the support package we have provided to deal with the pandemic.”

At the same time, Mr. Staikouras pointed out that “in September of this year there was a significant reduction of 49% in the overdue debt, according to the data of AADE”.

For his part, the KINAL MP stressed the “need for drastic solutions, with measures such as strengthening liquidity and suspending debtors’ liabilities, so that they can breathe a sigh of relief from the great financial problems they experience every day.”

“The current leadership of the Ministry of Finance and the government will not allow public derailment. It evaluates the data and with awareness, responsibility and realism, without populism, we are looking for the best to support businesses and households,” Staikouras replied.

The Minister of Finance also stressed that “based on the available data, 563,823 loans totaling 32.02 billion euros were settled by September, while from March 2020 until the end of September 2021, it was possible to suspend the payment of 408,632 loans amounting to 28 , 78 billion euros “.

Source: AMPE