Editorial To Vima: Fewer words, more work
The positive thing for Greece is that despite international uncertainty the markets are continuing to show trust in the prospects of the Greek economy.
The positive thing for Greece is that despite international uncertainty the markets are continuing to show trust in the prospects of the Greek economy.
Mitsotakis noted that the situation inherited by his government in the economy was is not rosy but that it will be possible to implement its policies due to an over-performance in revenues during the last two months.
Now expectations are clearly positive and everyone expects that an economy freed of the ideological fixations of the previous period can leap forward as long as a climate of renewal is maintained
Since Mr. Mitsotakis has declared that he intends to meet creditors’ demand (to which Greece has signed on) for a 3.5 percent primary surplus over the next two years the fiscal space is exceptionally narrow.
The Brexit path toward the unknown does concern only the UK. BREIt is an economic event of such magnitude that it can affect the global economy.
The danger of a new economic derailment has not been eradicated.
The government was forced to shut down banks and to impose capital controls, which was supposed to be a temporary measure.
After four years of sacrifices Greece has transcended an environment of reservations that was maintained by the markets and representatives of the international economic system.
Now everyone can understand that the Elliniko investment, liberated from bureaucratic red tape and shackles, can move forward and offer the expected growth impetus to Attica and the entire country.
What is needed is a comprehensive PPC salvation plan that can avert even the slightest possibility of collapse.
The times are not propitious for Mr. Mitsotakis. He must act swiftly and decisively. In these tough times there is no room for reservations and indecisiveness.
The aim is to create a framework for the mandatory electronic submission of invoices and bookkeeping for all businesses and freelance professionals, as of 1 January, 2020.
There is the basis of an economic recovery even as the banking system moves in the direction of an excellent clientele and of the competitiveness that the economy needs.
With his actions and choices Mr. Mitsotakis signaled that he leads a government which has its own plan and programme for an exit from the crisis
Greece, which is now borrowing with record low interest rates and can hope for a definitive exit from the crisis, will be able to borrow more money more cheaply.
Every Greek citizen has suffered the martyrdom of dealing with a monstrous and constantly expanding bureaucracy.
The monitoring mechanism that the government intends to establish to ensure transparency should be welcomed as a step in the right direction.
Will the government’s plan and decisiveness in implementing it prove stronger than the resistance that it will undoubtedly come up against?
Investors are not afraid that they will lose their money as was evidenced by the great demand for the seven-year bond.
The economy needs these tax cuts in order to achieve a high growth rate. Such relief measures are necessary in order to exit the crisis and for the economy not to fall into stagnation.
The greater the aggregate percentage of the vote of parties that fail to pass the three percent threshold to enter Parliament, the lower the percentage that ND will need to clinch a parliamentary majority
Decisions must be taken swiftly to unblock investments entangled in bureaucratic red tape and to send a strong signal that errors of the recent past will not be repeated.
'He is not among those in New Democracy who governed between 2004-2009 and who led the country with their irresponsible economic policy a step closer to catastrophe,' the Germany daily says of the ND leader.
There is an expectation that there will not be a repeat of phenomena of extreme populism that deeply wounded the country, most notably with the extension of the crisis for an extra four years.
From the PM's point of view, over-taxation, the suffocation of the middle class, and the dramatic plunge in public investment are not particularly problematical.
'He wants to unblock privatisations, reduce what he calls the state’s needlessly large footprint and make sure that Greece borrows at the same cost as other European countries,' Reuters reports.
A Hellenic Federation of Enterprises report says the middle class faced unprecedented over-taxation based on economic aims but political motives.
“The challenges for Mr. Mitsotakis, if elected, would include reforming a Greek state that has defied many attempted overhauls, convincing Germany and other lenders that his tax cuts will pay for themselves via better growth, and getting his own party to break with old habits of political patronage,” the report states.
The central banker’s assessment reminds one that the economy has not yet turned a page and that it has not been shielded from dangers.
It is irrational in the current conditions of stagnation and continuing crisis for public investment to be constantly dropping.
'The Greek middle class suffered over the last years from high contributions. Tax policy is one of the main reasons for the drop in the government’s polling numbers,' Handelsblatt reported.
Mitsotakis is running as the man who can re-unite a country deeply divided by the polarising strategy of a ruthless tactician.
The measures include the gradual reduction of business tax over four years from 29% to 25% (it fell to 28% this year), a reduction of the ENFIA real estate tax in certain lower income categories, and a rent subsidy,
'The result of the European election whetted the appetite of the political establishment in Greece and of extreme, conservative circles in Brussels which want to dispute our central political choices and hinder our plan,' the PM said.
It is no coincidence that Portugal borrows with much lower interest rates than Greece, as the yield on ten-year bonds demonstrates.
The cost of the package of measures announced by the PM is between 1.1 and 1.4 percent of GDP annually, which could exceed five billion euros over two years.
“Now that we have an improvement in the terms of borrowing for the Greek state, one should expect an improvement of the terms of borrowing for Greek banks. We may now have fewer banks, but they are stronger and the future belongs to them,” Stournaras declared.
The report underlines that in general there has been an unwelcome fiscal loosening in implementing reforms agreed to with Greece’s creditors and European partners over the last several months
Citizens in the recent elections punished the government for its failure to deliver on the economy, and the reaction of markets is hardly encouraging.
The stock market party is a reaction to the result of the 26 May European Parliament election as New Democracy won the contest by an unexpectedly large margin, the financial daily opines.
The credit rating agency projected that the recent improved climate will lead to a hike in deposits, a gradual reduction of non-performing loans (NPLs), and improved prospects for profit.
Over-taxation was a conscious choice of the government, which aimed to collect funds for electoral handouts at the end of its term.
After four lost years it is time to set aside ideological fixations and the ills that entrapped us in underdevelopment.
Greece has enormous capabilities. Unfortunately they are not being exploited and the results are tragic, as evidenced in the brain drain and the shrinking of the population.
At the peak of the tourist season employees in the hotel and food industries numbered 411,000 and accounted for 16.7 percent of employment.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has depicted himself as the protector of the poor and vulnerable and his opponent as a monster out of the Book of Revelation
The erstwhile enemy of the bailout memorandums ended up accepting the third and worst adjustment programme and said that he did so in the name remaining in the eurozone, which until then he had blamed for all of the country’s ills.
'Above all, our objective is to bolster the social economy – including agricultural cooperatives and energy communities,' the finance minister said.
The 26 May European Parliament and local elections are a dress rehearsal for the upcoming parliamentary election.
Asked about Tsipras’ package, Scholz said that Greece is part of the wider success story of the eurozone, as all countries which had funding problems have been able to return to regular borrowing
The reality is that all too many households in the country are still experiencing the harsh impact of the crisis.
Mitsotakis said Tsipras' economic stimulus programme, including tax cuts, is too little too late and is in no way a growth programme.
The cut in the VAT tax on food and restaurants and on electricity and gas bills as well as an annual bonus of half of a month’s pension annually for retirees is targeting a solid group of voters
Tsakalotos maintained that the government aims to tax the haves more than the have-nots who have borne the brunt of the crisis.
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Alternate Finance Minister Yorgos Houliarakis have conceded that over-taxation of the middle class was carried out by design.
The government has shaped an artificial reality in order to boast of its achievement even as the economy totters.
Greece is perhaps the only European country where political life literally paralyses before an election. The state lacks continuity and is managed in piecemeal fashion. The state machine freezes with a view to the upcoming political transition.
In its early period SYRIZA’s cadres defended migrants’ rights and were battling the 1% of the world population that was exploiting the toil of the other 99%.
Instead of fixing the fiscal roof, the government is preoccupied with handing out benefits, providing arrangements for debt repayment, and offering a write-down on home loans
According to the OECD, Greece and Hungary are the two European countries in which 70 percent of middle class households cannot afford unexpected expenses.
We seek out or manufacture enemies instead of forging a fundamental consensus so as to escape the vicious circle into which the country has fallen.
The Bank of Greece rang the alarm bells over the danger of fiscal derailment due to Greece’s Council of State rulings which deemed unconstitutional earlier pension cuts and the abolition of holiday bonuses.
We make mistakes and sometimes unpardonable ones, Deputy PM Yannis Dragasakis told Parliament about arrangements on resolving non-performing loans.
Διαχειριστής - Διευθυντής: Λευτέρης Θ. Χαραλαμπόπουλος
Διευθύντρια Σύνταξης: Αργυρώ Τσατσούλη
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