Dep. Fin. Min.: Greece has an advantage and a disadvantage in this crisis

Greece has a disadvantage but also an advantage in this crisis, stressed the Deputy Minister of Finance Theodoros Skylakakis at the Greek Cypriot investment conference of the Economist in London.

As he characteristically said: “Greece, due to its high dependence on Russian gas, will be more affected than the European average, but – due to its geographical location – has already implemented and launched the investments that other European countries will be forced to make in the field of defense .” At the same time, he pointed to the advantages of Greece the favorable conditions for the development of Renewable Energy Sources.

Referring to the Greek debt, he acknowledged that it is particularly high as a percentage of GDP, however, he stressed that most of it is planned to be repaid at pre-agreed fixed interest rates. He also expressed optimism that Greece’s return to primary surpluses will be accompanied by limited goals that will not hinder growth.

He described the investment gap as the biggest challenge for Greece, which has almost half the investment as a percentage of GDP compared to the Eurozone average. He added, however, that Greece recorded a large increase in investment in both 2020 and 2021, when a record high of 45 billion euros was recorded.