The need to adopt a national plan with a 15-year horizon to ensure the real convergence of the Greek economy with the Eurozone, Giannis Bratislav underlined.

The key challenges and growth prospects of the Greek economy were highlighted by Chairman of the EBEA, Yannis Bratakos, speaking at the “Greece 2030” conference and specifically in the panel on “After RRF: The New Development Model and Prospects”.

During his remarks, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed that the Greece of today has nothing in common with the past crisis, noting the steady upward trajectory since 2019, the halving of unemployment and the significant boost to investment. However, he expressed moderate concern about recent forecasts by international organizations and the EU, which put the growth rate at close to 2% this year and 1.8% and 1.6% in the coming years.

He pointed out that although these performances are above the European average, they remain low for the real needs of the Greek economy to substantially converge with the rest of the eurozone countries. For this reason, he suggested that national planning should be shifted to a 15-year horizon, i.e. towards 2040, as the foundations for the new economy must be laid now. “Major changes in the production model are not completed in three years. We must lay the foundations today and plan with a 15-year horizon, looking to Greece in 2040, to ensure a sustainable, competitive and productive economy for generations to come.

Bratakos set as the first necessary task the strengthening of industry and increasing its contribution to GDP. As he explained, bold changes are needed in the network of state and European aid, in order to actively support Greek companies that intend to contribute significant equity.

Special emphasis was placed on the problems of small and medium-sized enterprises, with the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry calling for a national and European revision of the framework and the limit of de minimis aid. At the same time, he highlighted the major barrier of access to bank lending, noting that despite the positive loan approval rates shown by banks, the reality is that many SMEs find it difficult or deterred from applying for finance. This is due to the huge bureaucratic costs and rigid criteria, which fail to properly assess viable business plans.

Referring to the labour market, Bratakos clarified that unemployment has declined significantly and that the real challenge facing businesses today is the lack of qualified staff. In this context, he called for a “reform shock” in education with a radical shift towards secondary technical and vocational education. In this area, he said, Greece should “look to its past” and revive the successful models of apprenticeship schools, which have produced highly trained craftsmen, constituting over time a key pillar for strengthening the productive capacity of industry.

Focusing on agriculture, he said the country has unique assets but the primary sector remains at a lower level than it could be. He argued that we need to move away from the outdated model of manual labour and invest in new technologies. In addition, Bratakos pointed out that the tourism model also needs a redesign. The country’s goal should no longer be to simply increase the volume of tourists, but to attract high-spending visitors who will stay longer.

At the same time, he stressed the need to diffuse the tourism product from the islands to mainland Greece, in order to upgrade the overall value chain of the Greek economy.

Finally, Mr. Bratakos stressed that the basic prerequisite for the success of all the above is investment security, which is seriously undermined as long as the pace of justice in the country does not keep pace with the growth rates of the economy.

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