After 12 years, Greece celebrates the “historic” end of increased economic supervision from Brussels

Greece officially came out of heightened surveillance this Saturday that for twelve years the European Commission maintains that oversaw the reforms adopted after the bailout“a historic day” in the words of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“The country can now look to a new clear horizon, a horizon of development, unity and prosperity for all,” Mitsotakis said in a video that marked the end of twelve years that, as the prime minister acknowledged, had brought heavy commitments.

He pointed out that during those twelve years there was also “pain” as a result of battery of duties which included “unsustainable” taxes and cuts in wages and public services, as well as the fact that Greece was relegated to Europe, reports Kathimerini newspaper.

In this sense, he admitted that the stagnation of the economy also contributed greater “division” in society, critical of the measures imposed by Brussels. However, he believes that some of these “wounds” have been overcome, such as the rise of violence, institutional weakness or the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.

European aid and its conditions continue to be the subject of political controversy today, p Greece is practically already in the pre-campaign before the parliamentary elections in 2023. Mitsotakis confirmed that after the bailout there had been “four years of demagoguery” which were “pushing the country to the brink”, alluding to the Syriza administration.

a chapter closes

The leader of this party and former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras recalled that it was during his mandate, in 2018, that Greece ended the bailout, amid the “lies” he attributed to the New Democracy ruler.

The European Commission announced on August 10 that it would not extend the enhanced monitoring of reforms related to the bailout program after assessing that Greece fulfilled most commitments and overall this reduced the risks to the Eurozone as a whole.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter that “thanks to the determination and resilience of Greece and its citizensthe country can close this chapter and look confidently into the future“The EU will always be by your side,” he added.

Eurogroup President Irish Minister Pascal Donohoe applauded this Greece moves towards ‘economic normality’ and considered the end of surveillance “a great achievement for the Greek government and citizens.”

Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni also spoke on this issue “Today Greece closes a difficult chapter” in its history. “The country is coming out of four years of heightened surveillance and has successfully fulfilled most of the political commitments made to the Eurogroup,” said the European Commissioner.

In particular, he pointed out, it has “effectively implemented key reforms to strengthen its economy and public finances”, important achievements, also considering that this period “was marked by two serious external shocks: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine’.

deep reforms

Between 2010 and 2018 Greece undertook deep reforms in its employment, tax, insurance, pension or public administration system. It carried out privatization, deep fiscal adjustments and restructuring of its banking sector, with great sacrifices of its population, recognized today by Europe.

This allowed it to emerge from recession – in 2010 its gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 5.5% – to grow by 1.4% in 2017. From a deficit of 11.2%, we reached a surplus of 0.8%.

[El MEDE entrega a Grecia último pago del rescate, de 15.000 millones]

With GDP still 25% lower than before the crisis, the country faces the challenge of unemployment, which is still the highest in the EU (20.1%), and the reduction of bad loans.

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