OT at TIF – Korkidis: “”We are experiencing a hybrid war, many businesses do not know whether they ‘win’ or ‘lose’ “

“We are experiencing a hybrid war, many businesses cannot price, they do not know whether they win or lose,” said Mr Vassilis Korkidis, President of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaking at the OT Forum that takes place in the context of the 86th Thessaloniki International Fair, while referring to the fruitless meeting of EU energy ministers on the price cap imposed on Russian gas, he stressed that the reduction of consumption by 9% in the second half of 2022 is “an illusory dream”.

Mr Korkidis spoke of energy costs for businesses estimated at around €12.5 billion, of which around €8 billion has been given as subsidies and it is estimated that this will rise to around €10 billion, creating a gap of around €2.5 billion.

Two packages of measures

Mr Korkidis referred also to the need for two packages of measures:

The first is the emergency and temporary package, with measures on energy costs, support for households and businesses. He pointed out the unfavorable environment created for borrowers by the increase in interest rates, as it is estimated that banks will receive an additional amount of about 1.2 billion euros.

The second package concerns the permanent measures with a four-year perspective and commitments and measures such as pension increase, minimum wage at 751 euros, further reduction of the corporate tax to 20%, abolition of solidarity levy and other similar measures.