The Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis, who participated in the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings in Luxembourg, referred to the Letta and Draghi reports.
Addressing his counterparts, Hatzidakis emphasized that “strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy is a top challenge. We have identified the causes of the problem and largely agree on what needs to be done. But we have to put it into practice.”
In the debate held in the Eurogroup, on the adoption of a Joint Declaration of Finance Ministers regarding the competitiveness of the EU, Hatzidakis focused on three points: First, finance ministers cannot be absent from this debate. Secondly, in order for Europe to respond to this challenge, it must have the necessary institutional and financial tools. Thirdly, there must be a sense of urgency in the positions, but also in the actions.
“The Letta and Draghi reports act as a wake-up call for the EU. But the crucial question is what do we do next?” ” Will we have completed our work with the Joint Declaration of the ministers? Obviously not. The Joint Declaration is not the end. It’s just the end of the beginning,” the Greek Minister concluded, recalling that the European economy is squeezed between the US and China.
At the Eurogroup, the future of the European Capital Markets Union was also discussed, in the presence of the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Nadia Calvino, who presented the Bank’s plans in this area. In his intervention, Hatzidakis pointed out that the EIB can make a significant contribution to the integration process of the European capital markets, especially in areas where there are difficulties in channeling private capital. As a typical example, he mentioned the support of innovation in cutting-edge technologies but also the realization of large-scale investments in strategic areas for the EU, such as the green transition, housing policy, and also defense. “In these sectors, the investment needs are very large. The active participation of the EIB will give a clear signal to the markets regarding the high level of commitment of the Union and will contribute to the attraction of new investors,” emphasized Hatzidakis.
At the ECOFIN meeting, the main topic of discussion was the financial support of Ukraine and, in particular, the ongoing procedures for the implementation of the G7 decision to grant a loan by leveraging the profits from the Russian Central Bank’s frozen assets. In his intervention, Hatzidakis emphasized that Greece, along with all other European countries, supports financial aid to Ukraine, both for reasons of principle, but also for reasons related to the European economy. In particular, he cited the example of the destruction of the electricity generation infrastructure in Ukraine, which resulted in significant increases in electricity prices in some EU countries in the summer, including Greece.
The ministers were also informed about the implementation progress of the Recovery and Resilience Fund while approving the revised Plans of Portugal and Lithuania. It should be noted that Greece’s absorption rate from the Recovery Fund reaches 17.2 billion euros from 2021 until today (in a total budget of 35.95 billion euros).
