Greece has become a model of fiscal discipline and reforms, National Economy & Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis underlined at the London School of Economics (LSE).
He spoke at an event held by LSE’s Hellenic Observatory research center with the Hellenic Bankers Association UK.
Pierrakakis described Greece’s progress from the deep crisis of the previous decade to the present, when the country has achieved a growth rate that exceeds the European Union’s average, noting that “the quantitative accumulation of change led to a qualitative change” in the Greek economy and society.
“We lost 25 GDP points, survived the equivalent of a Great Recession, and three rescue programs were needed instead of one. It was a very expensive lesson,” he noted, adding that the experience formulated a new and rational fiscal culture.
The main issue now, he said, is the faster convergence of wages with the European average, through the rise of productivity. Despite progress, there are social groups that must be supported in a more targeted way because of the energy crisis, high food and rent prices, and a persistent feeling of subjective poverty.
