Th. Skylakakis: ‘First we will see the prices in the tanks fall and then on the shelves’

“First we will see the prices in the tanks fall and then on the shelves”, said the Deputy Minister of Finance Theodoros Skylakakis regarding the price increases due to the energy costs.

Speaking to SKAI, Mr. Skylakakis stated that “I do not believe that we will learn to live with the prices of natural gas as it is now”, explaining that the prices of energy in the coming years will go like an amusement park “up and down”, declining in the medium term because “renewables have lower prices and no ups and downs”, as he clarified.

“In ’20 -’21 we had deflation, today the prices returned as a whole to the levels of 2019”, added Mr. Skylakakis, while he estimated that in 2022 we will not have serious inflationary pressure on households. “There we will fluctuate next year with a slight increase.”

Regarding the deficit, the Deputy Minister of Finance pointed out that no measures will be needed and explained that this is mainly due to tourism. “Tourism will go 10.5 billion throughout the year and we had 18 billion in ’19 plus the pandemic hit in the first half, is equivalent to the course of investment with a return to ’19 plus over 1.5% in 2022 “, said Mr. Skylakakis.

Regarding the possibility of a lockdown, Mr. Skylakakis noted that “the Greek economy owes a debt to Europe, properly restructured but large, it has too many measures that we have taken and the government’s policy is such that a large part of the population is vaccinated in particular “After the third tranche, it makes no sense for those who are protected to be locked in, causing enormous damage to the economy.”