Georgiadis – There is room for additional financial support measures

Through effective measures the government will face the imported inflation crisis, said the Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis, speaking in Parliament and assessed that “from the holidays onwards, the reverse course of this whole phenomenon will begin, as “Global demand will now have been met, the Christmas market will be over and the economy will slowly be moving at a smoother pace.”

As the Minister stressed, as long as the forecasts of international companies for the great growth of the Greek economy and the great growth in 2021 are confirmed, if necessary, there will be the fiscal space for additional support measures.

“The economic measures we have taken so far have had an extremely positive imprint and we tell the Greek citizens that, as we faced the previous crises that occurred during our term, so now we will face, with logic, prudence, wisdom but also with effective measures, the “Inflation crisis coming from abroad”, said Mr. Georgiadis.

Inflation and speculation

The minister cited data showing that average inflation in Greece in August was 1.9% in order to stress that “this is the fourth lowest inflation in the entire European Union” and that “Greece is among the four lowest inflation countries in the EU” and “according to the data of September, it is most likely that Greece will go to the 2nd best position in the EU “.

“The problem is not endogenous. It is not a cartel problem. The problem is not the result of speculation in Greece. Nevertheless, in order for the state to rule out the slightest possibility, in order not to give the businessmen the feeling that it is time to make unreasonable increases, taking advantage of the international wave of price increases, the General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs is constantly checking daily – and on a weekly basis. And the Competition Commission last Friday launched a surprise raid on all supermarket chains and wholesale chains, just to see if there was any kind of ‘cartelization’ of the market, in certain products,” said the Minister of Development and Investment. As an alternative, as he pointed out, the market provision that puts a ceiling on the profit margin that companies may have in relation to the profit they had in February 2020 was kept in force, companies that sell basic consumer goods can not increase their profit more than they had in February 2020. Checks are made, purchase and sale invoices are checked and if we find someone who has exceeded this 20%, we can impose fines.

In this climate, Adonis Georgiadis also referred to data recently published by ELSTAT and show that the disposable income of Greeks in 2021 continued to increase, saying that this happened mainly due to tax cuts and government insurance contributions. measures that enable businesses and households to have more money for investment and consumption.

Earlier, Movement for Change (KINAL) MP Vassilis Kegeroglou had called for “the protection and support of households, especially the vulnerable, following the wave of price increases in basic consumer goods.” Mr Kegeroglou made particular reference to energy prices, noting that the government may need to reconsider its position on the EU in terms of pollutants and seek support, because “both the one-sidedness of dependence on gas, as well as the market of pollutants, lead to huge increases that do not correspond to the increase in production costs, either from RES or lignite.” The MP  predicted that in the next period, consumers will see the consequences of the increases and for this, as he stressed, measures should be taken and interventions should be made in all the factors that affect prices in order to reduce effects as much as possible , especially since crop production is also exposed to these price hikes.

“The choice of humanity and especially of Europe to tackle dirty energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions is not a choice that can provoke political rivalry between us,” said the Minister for Development and Investment. issue concerning the future of our children and grandchildren and perhaps the very survival of the human species and therefore, well the EU sets these goals and well the Greek government, with de-lignification starring in this effort “.

On energy costs

Mr. Georgiadis said that the increase in the cost of pollutants is now so great that lignite is becoming the most harmful form of energy for PPC.

“The more energy we produce from lignite, the more money PPC loses . In order to be able to increase the production of RES, to change our energy mix and to lower the price of energy to the real cost, 49% of HEDNO was sold, which will lead in one year to the renewal of the network, which will allow RAE to give larger and more licenses for the many, dozens of new investments in the RES sector to click in the system”, said Mr. Georgiadis and added that legislative regulations are imminent, until the end of the year, which will give more space to RES.

“In this way we will soon face the high energy costs of Greece,” said the minister, especially for the average household, he said that the measures announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair since the state will cover all the increase in electricity in the average household and in the average business and “so no one has to worry about power price hikes”. In relation to large industries, the minister said that most of them have closed contracts with PPC and are protected for a long time.

“We all believe that from the holidays onwards, the reverse of this whole phenomenon will begin, as global demand is now met, the Christmas market is over and the economy is slowly recovering, unless we have some next very big turmoil “, Mr. Georgiadis also stated and to underline that” if the forecasts of the international companies for the great growth of the Greek economy and the great growth in 2021 are confirmed, if necessary – and the decision will be made by Mr. Prime Minister – there will be the budgetary space to give additional measures “.

“Fortunately, thanks to our collective effort and the efforts of all Greeks, 2021 is evolving into one of the best economic years for Greece and perhaps the all-time growth record for the Greek economy,” said Adonis Georgiadis.