Athens Chamber of Small & Medium Industries : Immediate business support measures needed

“The selection of a stable governments is, among other things, a basic condition for the development of the economy. It is positive that after a long pre-election period and two electoral contests, there is now a government with a vast majority in Greece. We wish every success to the new cabinet”, said the president of the Athens Chamber of Small & Medium Industries (BEA) in his statement, on the occasion of Sunday’s election result.

There is no time to postpone or delay reforms and important interventions for the benefit of citizens and businesses to address problems such as punctuality, accumulated debts, rising interest rates and lack of liquidity in the market, continued Pavlos Ravanis.

“What is required for us is the immediate adoption of measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises, with the direction of funds to strengthen them. Due to the special characteristics of the Greek economy, it is necessary to support small and very small businesses in order to achieve stable growth rates in the country.

In small and very small businesses, a significant part of European resources must be channeled, in order to adopt new production models, more friendly to the environment and green growth, but also to stimulate their extroversion, making investments and exports. Small productive companies must get on the bandwagon of the fourth industrial revolution.

At the same time, it is necessary to further reduce non-salary costs, specifically insurance contributions. This will lead to an increase in wages and disposable income, which will also lead to an increase in business turnover.”

As the Chamber of Commerce of Athens has stated repeatedly, the small and medium-sized artisans and producers consistently request:

– the immediate strengthening of liquidity in the market, using every possible means

-the relief from indirect taxes and rationalization of the tax system

-the shift to a production-manufacturing culture with a priority on the revitalization of craft

– the strengthening and development of productive sectors, with internationally tradable goods, with the simultaneous creation of a climate of responsibility and risk taking by all parties, but also

-reforms for the green development of businesses, with harmonization of the rules for environmental protection and sustainable development etc.

– the creation of technical schools, to develop skills, as there is a great lack of qualified workforce, concludes the statement of Pavlos Ravanis.