Can a country reverse its negative image? What methods can Public Diplomacy (PD) use to enhance a country’s image? How can positive momentum be used to sway public opinion? Has the public image of Greece changed over the past few months? The internationally renowned Professors Nicholas J. Cull (University of Southern California) and Stathis Kalyvas (University of Oxford), will be asked to address these -and many more- questions during the first online “Greek PD Talks” titled “Turning the Tide: How to reverse a negative image - The case of Greece”, on Thursday, June 18th, 2020 at 19:30 (Αthens local time).

The initiative

The “Greek PD Talks” is a forum inaugurated this year by the Secretariat General for Public Diplomacy of the Greek Foreign Ministry, providing a platform for a vibrant exchange of views and best practices on Public Diplomacy affairs.

The first round of the PD Talks discussion focuses on how to better manage and promote the country’s national image, a priority of the Secretariat General for Public Diplomacy, which gains an additional interest in the post-pandemic era, taking into account the positive momentum reflected in international reports on Greece.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Diaspora Greeks, Konstantinos Vlasis and Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy, Religious and Consular Affairs, Constantinos Alexandris will give welcome speeches, while Renee Maltezou, Reuters political and general news correspondent, will moderate the discussion.

The Speakers

Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Public Diplomacy and Founding Director of the Master’s Program in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, as well as a USC Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD) Faculty Fellow. An acknowledged pioneer in Public Diplomacy, his research, and teaching focus on the role of public engagement in foreign policy. He is a prolific writer and his most recent book is “Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age” (Polity, 2019). He has lectured widely around the world, frequently as a guest of diplomatic academies or foreign ministries and public diplomacy agencies.  

In a recent interview to Greek News Agenda, Professor Cull spoke, among others, on Greece and the need for the country to listen and understand its strengths, as well as its vulnerabilities in international opinion having though the unique advantage of people’s pre-existing emotional connection to its ancient world.

“The first thing that every initiative in PD must begin with is listening. Greece needs to listen to understand its strengths and its vulnerabilities in international opinion. We know that reputations change quickly so the government may be frustrated to find that many international ideas are out of date. This can work in your favor when outside perception is slow to pick up on failings which seem obvious to residents. The US and UK both are seen rather more favorably overseas than many at-home would expect. One of the unique advantages of Greece is the pre-existing emotional connection which people have to its places: the site of Olympus or Thermopylae. It seems as astonishing to see these on road signs as it would be to see signs for places in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. Yet Greece has often done little to take advantage of the link between the inner-mental place and the real-world location on Greek territory. (…) Greece has done more for the Gods we’ve outgrown than the mortal concepts we are still working with, and I wonder if there is a way to invite the world to share in the memorialization and further perpetuation of those ideas”.

Stathis N. Kalyvas is the Gladstone Professor of Government in the Department of Politics and International Relations and a Fellow of All Souls College, at the University of Oxford. Until 2018 he was Arnold Wolfers Professor of Political Science at Yale University, where he also directed the Program on Order, Conflict, and Violence and co-directed the Hellenic Studies Program. As an active participant in Greek public discourse, Professor Kalyvas has published, amongst other works, "Modern Greece: What Everyone Needs To Know" (2015), combining economic and political-science findings on the economic crisis with a discussion of Greece's history.

In an interview to Greek News Agenda, in 2016, Professor Kalyvas spoke, among others, on how the economic crisis informs Greek identity/ies, and how Greeks can reconstruct their self-perception in a positive perspective.

“The crisis is not a uniform process and it has affected public perceptions in Greece in a variable manner throughout the past years. I have the feeling that after a period of denial, there is at present a process of reconciliation with the hard economic reality, which is a precondition for making the necessary changes. Of course, whether these will take place is a completely different story.  If Greece succeeds, however, this will likely shape the self-perspective of Greeks in a more positive direction, stressing the (presently feeble) ability to self-correct in the face of adversity”.

To register for the first Greek PD Talks: click here

The Greek MFA's Sec-Gen for Public Diplomacy launches the first Greek #PDTalks webinar 

See also: “Public Diplomacy in Practice”: Inaugural seminar of the Secretariat General for Public Diplomacy; Sec-Gen for Public Diplomacy, Religious and Consular Affairs Constantinos Alexandris on building the new image of Greece; The practice of Greek Public Diplomacy and its contribution to the country’s image abroad

E.S.

The post Join the first “Greek Public Diplomacy talks” webinar: the new initiative of the Sec Gen for Public Diplomacy appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The Action Plan of the ministry of Economy and Development, which includes 142 actions and was presented at the beginning of November, specifies, per sector, the Ministry's initiatives in implementing the National Development Strategy for a strong, sustainable and equitable growth. The Action Plan is available to all citizens via the ministry’s website (opens pdf, in Greek).

The Action Plan provides tools and solutions to the business world as well as to consumers and heavily indebted households; promotes partnerships between central, local as well as regional administration, whilst simpifying of procedures and consolidating best practices. With regard to actions that enhance entrepreneurship, investment and Greek business visibility, the Action Plan includes the following:

For businesses

Improving Business Environment: → Simplification of the procedures for establishing personal and capital companies though the οne-stop service" e-YΣΜ platform for remotely setting-up companies → Simplification of licensing procedures for economic activity through the online platform "notify business"  (46,500 companies have so far used the new licensing function) → Modernization of Company Law → Spatial Planning for setting up Business Parks and Organized Busines Incubators.

Development and Business Visibility: Personalized business support via the extra-judicial grievance mechanism, establishment of the Support, Development and Transformation Network for SMEs and the Business Support Centres within the Chambers of Commerce → Support for dynamic economic branches (Agro Food - Industry - Tourism Forum, Action Plan for the Pharmaceutical Industry, Register of Support Organizations for Startups) → Support for Export Enterprises (ugrade of Enterprise Greece website, establishment of an inter-ministerial Committee for Extraversion, formulation of the Export Perspectives Chart).

Business Financing: Financial Instruments and Programmes (Equifund Business Fund for the financing of new innovative companies in the form of share capital, NSRF financial programmes, National Entrepreneurship and Development Fund - ETAN)  → Hellenic Development Bank (expected to be fully operational within 2019).

For Investors

New Development Law: Creation of an integrated institutional framework aimed at reindustrialization and knowledge-intensive investment projects

Investment Strategies: Launching an attractive and functional institutional framework for targeted investments.

Attracting and maintaining Foreign Direct Investment: Organizing business visibility actions through Enterprise Greece → Promotion of targeted investment opportunities

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Developing an Integrated Strategy → Approval of 5 PPP projects worth € 300 million.

Investment Schemes & Tools: Fund of Funds of 4th Industrial Revolution, Products Made in Greece, Creative Industry, Alternative Energy.

International Economic Relations: Activating the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Greece →  Establishment of branch of the European Investment Bank in Greece

Investments for Balkan Co-Development: Proposal for the establishment of a "South East European Cooperation and Development Organisation" as an agency analyzing the region's economy and the possibilities for cooperation.

For Citizens and Businesses - Effective Government

NSRF 2007-2013 and NSRF 2014-2020: Finding sources of funding for the completion of the 2007-2013 Programme projects → Full coverage of requirements (agreement terms and conditionalities) and securing the flow of NSRF funding 2014-2020 → Greece high on the list of Member States in terms of absorption of funds

Public Procurement: Inclusion of public procurements in the electronic system for the conduct of public tenders (National Electronic Public Procurement System), for transparency, acceleration of procedures and reduction of administrative costs → Implementation of the Central Public Procurement Management Plan.

Chambers of Commerce: Passing of Law 4497/2017 (clarification and modernization of the Chambers' operational framework) → Establishment of the Regional Council of Chambers for the Harmonization / Synchronization of Chambers' Development Activities with Larger Regional Planning.

Digital Governance: Upgrading the State Aid Information System to address structural weaknesses of the system → Establishment of a new Public Investment Programme platform (e-pde).

For the New Generation

Actions to tackle brain drain: Incentives for investments with high added value and knowledge intensive (new Development Law) → Boosting of new enterprises, R & D in enterprises etc. → Supporting academic and research excellence.

Establishment of the "Knowledge and Collaboration Bridges" e-platform: Connection of Greek scholars and entrepreneurs abroad with the Greek economy → Establishment within the next year of the award of the most important collaborations

Read more on growth policy in Greece via Greek News Agenda:

• A Holistic Growth Strategy for Greece

• Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras @ Thessaloniki International Fair: From Grexit to Grinvest

• Greek start-up industry: fund raising perspectives

• Alternate Minister for Research & Innovation: The government aims at creating a production model grounded in knowledge-based economy

• Lois Labrianidis on Greece's comparative advantages and the “Knowledge and Partnership Bridges” initiative

Article with infromation from: Communication Coordination Bulletin, Issue 11 (Nov. 2019), Independent Department of Strategic Planning & Interministerial Communication Coordination, Ministry Of Digital Policy, Telecommunications & Media – General Secretariat For Media & Communication.

Translation by Magda Hatzopoulos

I.L.

The post Action Plan for a Sustainable and Equitable Development appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The government’s growth strategy for post-memorandum Greece aims at creating a new identity for the Greek state, based on social welfare, fairness and productivity outlining the government’s vision for promoting sustainable growth and a successful exit from the adjustment programs. This Strategy aims to:

• Reverse Greece’s deindustrialization and the restore productivity and competiveness.
• Develop skilled human resources
• Upgrade infrastructures (transport, digital technology, energy)
• Exploit the country’s comparative advantages
• Transform the country’s production model

The growth plan identifies 7 specific key sectors that can support productivity and competitiveness: Transport, Infrastracture and Logistics, Energy, Agri-Food, Manufacturing, Shipping, Pharmaceuticals, Sustainable Tourism. The main policy objectives outlined in the govermentn’s plan are: ensuring fiscal sustainability, fostering sustainable growth, boosting exports and attracting foreign direct investment, boosting start-ups and SMEs, establishing structural conditions for growth, ensuring fair and inclusive growth and finally, making use of financing tools. The government will also roll-out specific actions such as restoring collective bargaining, designing a gradual rise in the minimum wage, establishing a development bank and encouraging private sector investment in research and development. 

This approach of the Holistic Growth Strategy drew upon the conclusions of the Regional Growth Conferences, where it emerged clearly that we need to maintain reform momentum, as well as create and enhance all institutions. It should be stressed that the Holistic Growth Strategy integrates a social pillar concerning not only social justice, but also ensuring an equitable and inclusive growth, which benefits all.

1.Fiscal Sustainability

Macroeconomic environment

Return to consistently positive growth rates (1.4% of GDP for 2017) driven by investments (+9.6% annually) and exports (+6.8% annually). Real GDP growth in 2018 is expected to pick up to 2.3%

Fiscal Policy

Fiscal consolidation achieved through structural and fiscal measures in the areas of expenditure (54.8 in 2018) and revenue (45.2% in 2018). The primary surplus in 2017 would be 4.2% of GDP, against a target of 1.75%, according to recent estimates. 

Public Finances and Tax Policy

Implementation of important structural reforms to reinforce public finance management, the most crucial being:

• Strengthening of the mechanisms monitoring the implementation of the budgets of all general government entities

• Establishment of the a National System for Online Contracts to ensure transparency in public procurement 

• Establishment of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue

Tax Policy aims to gradually reduce the tax burden and introduce a permanent tax system

Debt Sustainability

Certain short-term debt relief measures were introduced at the beginning of 2017. Medium-term measures are expected to take effect after the end of the program, even though the extend and scope of these measures has not been decided yet.

2. Sustainable Development

Creating more and better jobs

The priorities for the design of labor market are as follows:

• Eliminating undeclared work

• Creating more and better jobs, while raising the minimum wage

• promoting effective social dialogue through restoring collective bargaining

• protecting the unemployed, through strengthening active employment policies

Productivity improvement

The government has identified the key sectors of the Greek economy as well as the sectors in which the country has a comparative advantage and seeks to develop, such as:

• Transport and supply chain

•  Energy

•  Agri-food products

•  Processing

•  Shipping

•  Pharmaceutical industry

• Health and the environmental economy

• Tourism

• Culture

Supporting start-ups

The development of high quality research in higher education institutions and research organizations is supported through the establishment of the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI), while specific financing tools for innovative enterprises are also envisaged.

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI)

The government has designed and implemented a National Action Plan to boost exports and improve the extroversion of the Greek economy (reviewing  the legal framework for strategic investments, introducing a fast-track procedure, adopting a new development law to accelerate large-scale investments).

Building a modern state

The modernization of the Greek state was a necessity. Therefore, in this direction, a series of reforms related to the public administration and the fight against corruption were designed as well as:

• Alternative Dispute Settlement (Mediation and Out-of-Court Settlement of Debts),

• One-stop shops for the establishment and licensing of businesses,

• Spatial planning for land use at national, regional and local level

3.Structural Conditions for Growth

In addition to the development of the infrastructure, transport and energy networks discussed above, the strengthening of the digital economy is crucial to the country's economic transformation.

The main priorities of the National Digital Strategy adopted in December 2016 are:

• Ensuring inclusive access to digital infrastructures

• Accelerating high-speed internet access

• Providing assistance to economic sectors and small/medium-sized businesses

Managing State Assets

The Greek State possesses significant assets related to the participation in public enterprises and real estate. The management of public property, with a view to promoting transparency and efficiency, is carried out by the following organizations: the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (HCAP), the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), the Public Properties Company (PPC), the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund.

4. A fair and inclusive growth

• Promoting a socially oriented economy: promoting the development of productive and sustainable initiatives, based on the values and objectives of the social and cooperative economy. A National Cyclical Action Plan is being prepared, including funding and incentives to boost knowledge, promote business opportunities, create effective governance structures, and move the economy towards a new model of sustainable production and consumption patterns.

• Ensuring regional development and cohesion: with a view to enhancing national cohesion and reducing regional disparities, 13 Regional Conferences for Productive Reconstruction were held, the conclusions of which will be integrated into policy-making at national level. At the same time, an integrated set of policies for the islands (improvement of access, upgrading of infrastructure, etc.)

• Inclusive education: the main objectives are modernizing educational structures, improving educational results and integrating graduates into the labor market. The reforms cover the entire range of education, from pre-school to third level education, while professional education and training programs are being upgraded.

• For a comprehensive and effective Health System: access for uninsured citizens to the National Health System was ensured and a public entity was established in order to rationalize spending and fight corruption in the public health system. Measures are promoted for more efficient hospital services, pharmaceutical cannabis production and medical tourism.

• Introduction of a system of social solidarity income for vulnerable social groups. Social protection is enhanced by additional services and benefits in kind.

• The new generation is at the top of the agenda: an integrated strategy "Youth 17-27", which sets out as priorities (a) strengthening of youth, economically and politically, (b) facilitating the transition from childhood to adulthood, (c)  implementing targeted measures to accelerate the integration of young people into the labor market.       

5. Financing Development

• Public Investment Program: It is made up of national public resources and resources from the European Structural Funds.  The PIP is allocated a budget of 6.75 bln euros for 2018 and 7.3 bln annually for the period 2019-2022. It is estimated that within the next five years 40-50 bln will flow into the economy, taking into account money disbursed from International Financial Institutions.

• Mixed Financing: Programs employing private and finance capital in combination with public resources to finance SMEs and start-ups (for example, EquiFund).

• The New Development Law 4499/2016: It aims to create over 11 bln of  private investment until 2023, by providing incentives to the private sector.

• Establishment of a Development Bank: in order to facilitate access to funding for the SMEs, business start-ups, cooperatives and social enterprises. Additionally, the Bank will coordinate the use of all available financial tools,   advise companies and provide know-how to the public sector.

• Financial Sector: The main priorities for the transformation of Greece’s financial sector up to 2021 are: (a) The strengthening and expansion of the sector (b) The reduction of the number of non-performing loans (NPLs) (c) The improvement of the governance of the banks and (d) The easing and eventually the abolishment of capital controls.

I.L.

The post A Holistic Growth Strategy for Greece appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The Greek ministry for Economy and Development has issued its Economic Outlook Bulletin for March-April 2018 titled "From recovery to growth". According to the report, the main economic trend is the high growth rate of private productive investments, ie gross fixed capital formation, which closed the fourth quarter of 2017 with an annual increase of 28.9%. Overall, in 2017, the Greek economy left behind its nine years of recession and stagnation, marking the second consecutive year of investment recovery -something that hasn´t happened since 2007. In August 2018, as the current Economic Adjustment Programme ends, the country exits the Memoranda and the close supervision of creditors, having achieved a correction of macroeconomic imbalances (fiscal & external balance), with enhanced market confidence and a view to preserving remarkable medium-term growth rates (estimated around 1.9-2.3%). These conclusions  are corroborated by the following:

(i) Positive annual growth rates of real GDP were recorded for four consecutive trimesters in 2017.

(ii)The course of implementation of agreed reforms continues smoothly.

(iii)The last two reviews were completed on time and a successful completion of the Programme is expected by all involved.

(iv)Our gradual return to the markets -with a view to create a cash buffer- has been successful.

(v)The positive stress tests results for the Greek banks.

(vi)The country’s credit rating has been upgraded by rating agencies.

The report is structured in four chapters: "From Recovery to Growth", "Constant improvement of investment climate", "Public Sector: the issue is efficiency and not size", and "New Development Law: A New Perspective on the State and Entrepreneurship". Greece is expected to maintain high growth rates in investments that after a 9.5 pct annual growth rate in 2017 and double-digit growth rates in 2018 and 2019 forecasted by the European Commission.

As news site Greek Travel Pages reports: "According to the bulletin, the forecast is based on a number of factors including shrinking government debts, the relaxation of capital controls  and a reduction in bad loans. Other factors leading to favorable conditions include the government’s development strategy which covers infrastructure, business environment, strengthening the country’s export capacity, attracting foreign investment, creating more jobs, strengthening strategic sectors of the economy and developing new small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, the upward trend is encouraged by improving consumer confidence and increasing deposits, which went from 119 billion euros in April 2017 to 126 billion euros in March 2018."

The post Economic Outlook Bulletin: Greece expects to maintain high growth rate of investments in 2019 appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

At the recent Eurogroup in Sofia (27/04) Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos presented the government’s growth strategy for post-memorandum Greece. The plan aims at creating a new identity for the Greek state, based on social welfare, fairness and productivity. To achieve this goal the government will roll-out specific actions, including: modernising the public administration, reforming the justice system, restoring collective bargaining, designing a gradual rise in the minimum wage, establishing a development bank and encouraging private sector investment in research and development.

The growth plan identifies 7 specific key sectors that can support productivity and competitiveness: Transport, Infrastracture and Logistics, Energy, Agri-Food, Manufacturing, Shipping, Pharmaceuticals, Sustainable Tourism. The main policy objectives outlined in the govermentn’s plan are: ensuring fiscal sustainability, fostering sustainable growth, boosting exports and attracting foreign direct investment, supporting the 7 Key Sectors, boosting start-ups and SMEs, sstablishing structural conditions for growth, ensuring fair and inclusive growth and finally, making use of financing tools. In more detail:

1. Ensuring fiscal sustainability
   • Keeping to primary fiscal surplus of 3,5% GDP until 2022
   • Using available tax space to reduce tax burden and increase social spending
   • Achieve real GDP growth above 2% in the medium term
   • Continue implementing Public Financial Management Reforms
   • Tax Administration Reforms in order to further tackle tax evation
2. Fostering sustainable growth
   • Improving the Business Environment: build a modern public administration; reform justice (accelerating the hearing of cases, eliminating backlogs etc); create a stable, growth and investment friendly tax system; expand functions and further digitize one-stop-shop for businesses; simplify licencing; complete the Intergrated Spatial Planing and the National Cadaster.
   • Boosting Exports - Attracting Foreign Direct Investment
   • Creating more and better jobs (design and implement efficient Active Labour Market Policies; continue efforts to further reduce undeclared work; reinforce the vocational education and training system; restore collective bargaining; gradual increase in minimum wage)
   • Supporting 7 Key Sectors (Transport, Infrastracture & Logistics, Energy, Agri-Food, Manufacturing, Shipping, Pharmaceuticals & Sustainable Tourism)
   • Boosting start-Ups and sMEs (reallocate resources towards R&D to promote innovative entrepreneurship: EquiFund; encourage private sector investment in R&D; support capacity building in Higher Education and research organizations: Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation; support flagship initiatives with strong innovation potenial: agrifood, presicion medicine and cultural heritage).
3. Establishing structural conditions for growth
   • Comprehensive strategic action plans under implementation in all infrastracture and network industries: energy, transport & logistics, digital economy, water.
   • Managment of state assets: Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations S.A., Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), State-Owned Enterprises, Real Estate.
4. Ensuring fair and inclusive growth
   • Inclusive education
   • Social protection for vulnerable groups (Roma, elderly, homeless)
   • Universal and effective healthcare
   • Regional development and territorial cohesion
   • Youth at the top of the agenda
5. Making use of financing tools
   • European Structural funds
   • Public Investment Program
   • Juncker Plan (EFSI)
   • International Financial Institutions
   • Mixed-funding programs
   • Development Law
   • Hellenic Development Bank
   • Financial Sector

The growth plan has to be aproved by member-states of the Eurozone, and according Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, it was well received at the Eurogroup meeting in Socia. Speaking to "Sto Kokkino" radio station (03/05), Tsakalotos said that the heads of the institutions will return to Athens on May 14 and Greece will reach a staff-level agreement in the next Eurogroup on May 24. The fourth review of the Greek programme will then be concluded at the June 21 Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg, he added.

Tsakalotos said that the country's "comprehensive growth plan" must be "credible to both foreigners and Greeks" and offered examples, such as raising the minimum wage, collective labour negotiations and a social programme in schools and hospitals.

"Growth will not be just for those who gained from the recession," he said, adding that society must participate in any gains made. Referring to reforms, he noted the need to strengthen the investment climate, speed up justice and combat bureaucracy.

Commenting on the type of post-programme surveillance that will be adopted in Greece, Tsakalotos said this will have no prior actions though the monitoring of Greece "might be a little closer" than that of other EU countries. "There is surveillance of targets and surveillance of means in the programme. The institutions will have a say on some major reforms but not a big say on how you get from 3.5 pct of GDP to 2.0 pct. We will have the biggest say concerning the means," he said.

Asked whether the high primary surpluses targets might change, Tsakalotos noted that Greece must first wait and see on what terms it will exit the programme and strict surveillance, what is decided on debt relief and whether the Macron agenda is adopted.

On Greece's debt, the minister said talks are continuing and will be completed at the June 21 eurogroup.

Read more: Greece ready for a "clean" exit from memoranda; Greece's post-memorandum era: developmental and social goals; Christos Staikos on the rise of investment interest in Greece; Researchers & Research return to Greece

I.L.

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The European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici, spoke to Dimitris Rapidis, coordinator of the European Progressive Forum. Moscovici talked about the surge of far-rights parties in the EU, fighting tax avoidance and evasion in the EU, deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union and Antonio Costa's administration in Portugal as proof that a government of the left can advance socialist values and principles.

As far as Greece is concrerned, the Commissioner points out that "the next few months constitute the home stretch of the memorandum era, which began eight years ago in the spring of 2010. The swift and successful conclusion of the third review bodes well for the next steps."

The post Pierre Moscovici: No more memoranda for Greece appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The General Secretariat for Media and Communication has published a fact sheet that compiles figures and up to date information οn economic developments in Greece, providing an conscise and informative economic review of the year 2017 - including updates until March 2018.

Download the fact sheet in pdf format

Greece has returned to growth in the course of 2017, signaling a turning point for its economy. With a fiscal over-performance over the period 2015-2017 and a gradual restoration of investor and market confidence, signs of economic recovery are observed in an accelerating growth rate, a remarkable increase in exports of goods and services and in the return of Foreign Direct Investments to pre-crisis levels. At the same time unemployment has dropped, demonstrating a downward trend. The third economic adjustment programme is progressing smoothly towards its conclusion on 20 August 2018, paving the way for the technical work concerning the related growth-adjustment mechanism which is linked to debt relief measures.

With a view to the final decision expected in June, the post-programme framework that will define relations with Greece’s partners is also being prepared. A long-term growth strategy is being elaborated by the Greek government, taking Greece's economic profile into account and highlighting the country’s competitive advantages.  The strategy will continue the necessary structural reforms to make the country more competitive and less bureaucratic, while at the same time promoting fair growth for all.

Public Finance on the right track

State Budget Execution for January - December 2017

• Surplus of 1,941 million Euros in the State Budget Primary Balance, against the primary surplus target of 877 million Euros.

• Ordinary Budget net revenues amounted to 48,973 million Euros, 259 million Euros or 0.5%, higher than the target.

• State Budget expenditures up to 55,690 million Euros, 1,575 million Euros lower than the target (57,265 million Euros).

• Decrease in the Ordinary Budget expenditures by 943 million Euros compared to the respective period of 2016.

• The General Government primary surplus targets of 2017 and 2018 agreed at 1.75% and 3.5% of GDP, are about to be achieved, building on the previous year’s primary surplus overshooting by 3.3% of GDP against target.

Confidence gradually restored

Access to international capital markets

• Successful attempt to access international capital markets in July 2017, for the first time since 2014, with the issuing of a syndicated 5-year state bond of 3 billion euros at a 4.62% interest rate (against 4.95% in 2014).

• Successful issuance in February 2018 of a 7-year state bond of 3 billion euros at a 3.5% interest rate, in the framework of a planned series of market access exercises under the ESM programme.

Economic outlook upgrades by credit rating agencies

• A series of economic outlook upgrades within 2017 by credit rating agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and DBRS from stable to positive.

• Greece’s sovereign credit rating was upgraded by Standard & Poor’s from B- to B, in January 2018.

• Greece’s issuer rating was upgraded by Moody΄s to B3 from Caa2, in February 2018.

Economic Sentiment – Consumer Confidence

• Steady improvement of the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) and the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) within 2017. On average, the ESI rose to 96.6 bps (base points) in 2017 from 91.6 bps in 2016 hitting 104.3 bps in February 2018. The PMI on average went over 50 bps, reflecting expansion in manufacturing.

• Consumer confidence improved by 18.5 bps at the end of 2017 versus the end of the previous semester.

Signs of economic recovery

GDP growth

Greece returned to growth, in 2017, signaling a turning point for its economy. GDP growth reached 1.4% for the whole year according to first estimates (the biggest increase since 2007), while for 2018 GDP growth is estimated at 2.3%.

Exports of goods and services

Exports of goods and services during 2017 amounted to 59,758 billion euros in comparison with 55,970 billion euros for the corresponding period of the year 2016, recording an increase of 6.8%.

Public Investment Programme

The Public Investment Programme showed a yearly increase of 209% in January 2018 and 27% in February 2018, in comparison to -80% and -34% respectively in 2017.

Tourism

In 2017, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €12,680 million, up 13.2% from a surplus of €11,201 million in 2016. Net receipts from travel services offset 69.1% of the goods deficit and accounted for 72.9% of total net receipts from services. Travel receipts rose in 2017 to €14,596 million a 10.5% rise compared with the previous year.

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2017 came to a total of €3.59 billion euros (2% of Greek GDP), increasing by 29.4% in comparison to 2016. FDI inflows to Greece have returned to pre-crisis levels both in quantity and quality as an increase in industrial sector’s contribution has also been remarked (from -9% in 2014 to 8% in 2017).

EU funding absorption

Greece achieved the highest EU funding absorption in the EU having used 25% of the funding available from the new European structural and investment funds for 2014-2020. Greece also ranked first in 2016 with a record absorption of 11.3 % in that year, placed in the top of available EU funding absorption for the third consecutive year.

Agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB)

EIB financing in Greece came to a total of EUR 2.1 billion in 2017.
The total investment of the EIB Group (the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund) in Greece in 2017 was EUR 2.49 billion.

European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) – (Juncker Plan)

Total financing under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) in Greece amounts to €2.1 billion and is set to trigger €8.1 billion in additional investments (as of February 2018).

Greece’s economy reorientation

Consumption expenditure

Final consumption expenditure (in public and private sector) decreased by 0.2% in 2017 while gross capital formation representing productive investment increased by 9.6% (against 5% target), showing the biggest increase over the past decade.

Industrial production

Industrial production stayed on an upward climb for the third consecutive year, at an accelerated pace (+4.4% in the January-November period versus +2.5% respectively in 2016).

Agri-food sector

Agri-food sector is a key sector for Greek economy showing an increase of 15.3% in exports in the period 2014-2017 representing the 17.5% of total exports.

Extroversion

The exports of goods and services to GDP ratio has increased to 31.9% in 2017. The ratio of goods exports to the total exports (goods and services) increased in 2017 from 50.1% to 55.1% marking the shift from a production model based on services to a model  based on goods mainly industrial.

Labor market developments

• Reduction in unemployment rate reaching 20.2% in the 3rd trimester 2017, the lowest since 2013 when unemployment rate reached 27.9%.

• Reduction in youth unemployment rate reaching 42.9% in 2017, the lowest rate of the last 7 years.

• Creation of 320,000 net jobs in the period 2015-2017, the highest employment growth over the past 10 years.

• Salaried employment returned to positive numbers in February, as recruitments outnumbered retirements by 16,628 jobs according to the ERGANI Information System.

Adjustment Progress

According to the 2017 Euro Plus Monitor issued by the Brussels-based think-tank Lisbon Council, Greece ranks first in Adjustment Progress Indicator, an index showing the progress that countries have made in fiscal adjustment, taking into account hard economic data but also structural reforms.

More specifically, Greece ranks:

• first in fiscal adjustment (the  size and quality of any change in the fiscal deficit, adjusted for interest payments as well as cyclical and one-off factors),

• first in structural reforms,

• second in the criteria of labour cost adjustment (changes in unit labour costs relative to the eurozone average),

• fourth in the external adjustment (the rise/or fall in exports relative to imports in the external accounts).

*Τhe Fact Sheet was compiled by Strategic and Communications Planning Unit of General Secretariat for Media and Communication, Ministry of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media.

Sources available online:

•  “State Budget Execution for January - December of 2017” - Ministry of Finance

• “Bulletin of Economic Developments, Jan-Feb 2018” (in Greek only) - Ministry of Economy and Development

• “Bulletin of Economic Developments, Nov-Dec 2017” (in Greek only) - Ministry of Economy and Development

• “Quarterly National Accounts, 5.3.2018” - Hellenic Statistical Authority

• “Developments in the balance of travel services: December 2017, 21.02.2018” - Bank of Greece

• Foreign Direct Investments January – November 2017 - EnterpriseGreece, Invest and Trade

• Business and Consumer Survey, February 2018 -IOBE - Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research

• Investment Plan for Europe: Greece, February 2018 - European Commission

Read more via Greek News Agenda:

• Greece's post-memorandum era: developmental and social goals

• Christos Staikos on the rise of investment interest in Greece

• Greece ready for a "clean" exit from memoranda

• The Greek Economy: Recent Economic Developments

I.L.

The post Greek economy entering a new era: Fact Sheet for January 2017 – March 2018 appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

Dimitri B. Papadimitriou is the Minister of Economy and Development of Greece. He was also President of the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College since its inception in 1986 and Executive Vice President and Jerome Levy Professor of Economics at Bard College since 1977. Minister Papadimitriou gave an interview to Pavlos Kapantais for French weekly news magazine L' Obs (27.01.2018, "Greece: Beyond numbers, people have been hit hard by the recession"), where he posits that 2017 was a turning point for Greece, as evidenced by the country's return to growth -after eight years of recession, recovering exports the declining unemployment. Furthermore, he is confident that Greece will regain its financial autonomy by August 2018, and that there will be a significant debt restructuring in the future, now that more and more voices in the EU are saying that the Greek debt issue needs to be solved*.

It has been three years since the radical left SYRIZA party came to power. For the last year and half, you have been a member of the Tsipras administration, which has implemented the difficult reforms imposed by the European bailout programs. The year 2017 is marked by a return to growth. Is this sustainable?

After eight years of recession, return to growth -with four consecutive quarters characterized by increased activity- clearly shows that the country has finally turned the page. This is also confirmed by the significant increase in exports and foreign direct investments. The latter also skyrocketed in 2017, rising by 69% during the first nine months of the year. For the most part, this happened thanks to the privatizations program.

The country's GDP has fallen from € 242 billion in 2008 to € 174 billion in 2016. Given this collapse, is it not too soon to celebrate over a growth rate that will not even reach 2% in 2017?

Let’s make it clear: We cannot celebrate just yet. Beyond the numbers, there are people who for eight years have been fully exposed to the recession and suffered enormously from this vertiginous GDP decline. The year 2017 is a very important year, but not everything has been resolved. Unemployment, although declining, remains at 20%. Undoubtedly, society continues to suffer. Regarding growth, it is definitely anemic, but it is a beginning: we know that in the first nine months of the year, exports grew by 8.2%, driven by agro-food products and aluminum. We also know that the country, thanks to its tourism industry, welcomes more visitors every year and that unemployment, even while remaining a huge problem, has declined by 7% since 2015. The year 2018 will be even better.

The current European bailout program ends by August 2018. In June 2017 you successfully issued a bond. Is the country ready to regain its financial autonomy?

Our return to the markets was a success. Our interest rate was the lowest since 2006. Greece no longer needs a new upgrade from rating agencies in order to fully finance itself in the markets. This will happen before the end of the current program in August 2018, I can guarantee you that.

So Greece will not need a fourth bailout program?

Exactly.

For exactly five years Greece has been achieving –as required by the lenders- a primary budget surplus, that is to say, a surplus prior to the payment of interests on debt. However, the debt is still there. Do not you fear it will sink the real economy?

Given Greece’s return to growth, there will be no problem in continuing to respect the surplus targets set by our lenders until 2022. From then on, I expect to see a significant debt restructuring. Whatever form it will finally take, I have to tell you that I am optimistic on this issue.

We have talking about the debt issue since November 2012 and yet nothing has happened...

The sentiment within the EU is changing. In France, Italy, the Netherlands or even in Germany, there are more and more voices saying that the Greek debt issue needs to be solved. This good will of European leaders, coupled with pressure from the IMF, should lead to a solution that will be beneficial to our country. And this will attract even more investors.

Upon leaving the Eurogroup presidency, the Dutch minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem made enthusiastic comments about Alexis Tsipras. Is this a true sign of trust or is it political maneuver to justify the decisions taken by Europe since 2010 - especially the loans given to Greece?

 It is a combination of all these factors. But above all, it is true that our government has done what it promised to. It has implemented reforms that no other Greek government dared to until today (mainly in regards to stricter legislation on strike rights – editor’s note). This was greatly appreciated by European leaders. It is logical, therefore, that the former Eurogroup President expresses his satisfaction with our Government. Wolfgang Schäuble did the same before leaving his post as a German Finance Minister.

These reforms by the Tsipras administration have had enormous political costs. For more than a year, the polls show SYRIZA lagging behind the right-wing New Democracy party. Does this worry you?

We should always be cautious when it comes to opinion polls. The elections will take place in September 2019. Until then, the country's economic situation will be much better and this will confirm to the people the difficult decisions we had to take.

You mentioned Wolfgang Schäuble’s departure; this is a person who is considered -to say the least- controversial in Greece. What was his role in the Greek crisis?

Since 2010, when I was a mere observer of the whole situation, I was very critical of the management of the Greek crisis in general, and of the role played by Wolfgang Schäuble in particular. He used means of pressure that largely destabilized the markets, which it turn, aggravated the crisis. You could say that it has him who invented the term "Grexit"! In addition, by repeating it, he increased the difficulties of the Greek governments, which were obliged to accept things (in terms of fiscal austerity – editor’s note) that were not necessary and should not have been accepted.

Read more via Greek News Agenda: 

• Economy Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou on US potential investments in Greece

• Positive prospects for the Greek economy attract US investment interest

*Translated by: Ioulia Livaditi

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Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stressed the need to discuss Greece's future and the road to growth that lies ahead in his opening remarks of the traditional Premier's state-of-the-economy address on the inauguration of the 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), this Saturday 9/11: “We set up policies and institutions that will guarantee that Greece will not return to the past exit from the memorandum. The time has come for our youth, workers and the entire country to quicken their step. We will not allow a return to the Greece that went bankrupt. Our duty is to create a new Greece, of equality, meritocracy, social welfare state, stability and trust. To create institutions that will be able to protect what we call public interest,” he said.

The premier noted that the restoration of confidence in the Greek economy and increasing investment interest for Greece, this transition from the Grexit to Grinvest, was not accidental, but the result of planned institutional interventions and fiscal policies as well as the implementation of a new production model. He stressed the importance of a positive business climate in job creation: "The main way to tackle unemployment is to stimulate growth and to build on the positive momentum of the Greek economy, to improve the business climate and investment”.

"The country's positive outlook is now visible and acknowledged both by our partners and by international markets. We exceeded the program's targets for primary surpluses and this strengthened our negotiating ability. The country has made strides and is becoming a strategic partner of very significant economic powers” note the prime minister. This evidenced by the recent official visits of French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tsipras' own two visits to China.

Presenting the data on Greece’s state of the economy, Alexis Tsipras said that in 2016 foreign direct investments (FDI) hit a 10-year high, while government expects a further improvement in 2017, as FDI inflows totaled 1.4 billion euros in the first four months of the year. The Prime Minister cited the new development law which focuses, for the first time, in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and has cleared the way for 800 new investment plans worth 2.0 billion euros, which government authorities are in the process of evaluating.

 “The positive economic growth rates are an excellent omen,” he continued adding that “Greece, for the third successive year, is the top country in absorbing EU funds. This means there was an inflow of funds worth 11 billion euros in the Greek economy from 2015 onwards, in the fields of energy, transport, business innovation and human resources growth.”

“The med-term fiscal strategy framework envisages an annual increase, of 1.5 billion euros for infrastructure in agricultural production and energy saving programs for buildings until 2020. Greece has managed to secure 2.0 billion euros from the so-called Juncker Plan through agreements with EBRD for Greek SMEs. The government is activating new funding tools which, through leverage, could activate funds up to 3.0 billion euros. “In two years, we managed to complete infrastructure works left uncompleted for decades at a huge cost for the Greek state” .

Alexis Tsipras said public investments will total 1.0 billion euros in 2017, up 25 pct, adding the government’s strategic goal was to operate a public sector equally accessible to all citizens. “Our vision is [to have] a digital public sector in 2020,” he added.

Turning his attention to the completion of Greece’s adjustment program in 2018, he mentioned that with the road map on debt settlement and debt sustainability “we are in a position, with a stable footing, to leave behind the trap of supervision and disastrous austerity”, as shown by the country’s recent successful foray into capital markets.

Other positive milestones were the successive upgrades of the country’s credit rating, the decline of the Greek bond spreads and the increase of economic confidence at the highest levels in recent years.

On the issue of unemployment, the premier announced that 213,000 new jobs created from January 2015 to December 2016 and a total of 263,000 new jobs by July this year. “This is a record number for the last 16 years,” he stressed, adding the unemployment among young people fell by 10 percentage points compared with 2014.

The prime minister announced that the government is working to introduce legislative interventions to protect employees, strengthen employment supervisory mechanisms and redesign funding tools to support them. The government will also soon present proposals to subsidize social insurance contributions for employers agreeing to offer payroll contracts to employees.

Concerning the government’s digital policy, he said 410,000 Greeks have free satellite access to Greek TV stations around the country, while 14,500 households in 47 islands and 72,000 students enjoy high-speed internet, free or with a significant subsidy.

Alexis Tsipras finally voiced hope that Greece will inaugurate the 83rd Thessaloniki International Fair, where the US will be an honoured country free from adjustment programs and outside the strict supervision: “This is our goal and we are determined to achieve this and for the country to stand on its own feet. Next year we will be discussing about how we will all create Greece of the new era.”

The Greek premier made a special mention for the honoured country of the fair, China. 
"[It is] A country with a long history, tradition and culture, an ancient civilization, current leader in international developments. We have been related with you in honest friendship and mutual respect for decades. But particularly in the last few years, we keep deepening our cooperation with economic and cultural exchanges. The Thessaloniki International Fair is one more great opportunity to deepen our bilateral cooperation. I welcome you and hope our relations become more and more fundamental, more constructive and friendlier," he said.” 

source: ANA-MPA

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As Greece's economy recovers and the impact of reforms kicks in, the focus of government policy will shift toward relieving the burden of middle incomes, Greece's Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said in an interview published by "Avgi" newspaper ("Yes, June's Eurogroup was beneficial for Greece"/"Ναι! Τον Ιούνιο αποκομίσαμε στο Eurogroup τρία σημαντικά κέρδη", 25.07.17)  He spoke about the government's negotiating tactics and the benefits resulting from its decision to reject the agreement offered on May 22 and push for a better deal at the next Eurogroup on June 15.  Tsakalotos also commented on the future of the Left in Europe, in an opinion piece published in newspaper “Efimerida ton Syntakton” (24.07.17, "Quo vadis Europa?"/"Που πάει η Ευρώπη;")

What has Greece gained?

The most important difference between the two agreement documents is that in the June 15 agreement long-term primary surpluses targets were now “locked in” at 2 pct of GDP, whereas previously they had been set at “at least 2 pct” which will allow for us to further define medium-term debt relief measures.

Another benefit is and that there has been a change to the wording concerning debt relief, with Greece’s EU partners now committed to provide debt relief “to the extent it is required” rather than “if necessary”. Based on this new wording, debt relief measures are a given, and future discussions will focus on the extent of their implementation, lifting thus the uncertainty that accompanied previous decisions -where debt relief retained an element of political negotiation and depended on the political will of sides that didn’t have Greece’s best interests in mind. Lastly, Tsakalotos added, there was greater clarity regarding the measures for growth, on which the government will give emphasis.

Asked when Greece might return to the bond markets, Tsakalotos said that over next few weeks, when the next installment of financial aid will be released, the members of the Public Debt Management Agency, depending on domestic and international economic conditions and in coordination with the government, may organize a test return to the marekt- the exact time is a rather technical issue, so it is not possible to make accurate forecasting at this time.

The Left's proposals

In addition, according to Tsakalotos the government is continuing its efforts to gradually relax capital controls: “as confidence in the economy grows, we will see acceleration in the return of deposits and a strengthening of the banking system, which, logically, will also speed up the relaxation of capital controls”. Regarding the overall economy, Tsakalotos said that the “fiscal space” that Greece had been given must now be used to “implement a new growth model, which will correct injustices and on allow those hurt by the crisis to experience the benefits of recovery”.

Tsakalotos confirmed that the Greek side had received “significant help” from France during the recent phase of the negotiations. He further added that “our desire is to create a broad alliance against austerity policies and the devaluation of the welfare state and labor rights. We have worked to ensure a common course of action for the European countries of the South - including France - against austerity, irrespective of each government’s political family. We have also tried to do so on the level of European institutions, in our agenda on social and labor rights.” Tsakalotos believes that the debate on the future of Europe will become dominant shortly after the German elections, and then “we will come to the dialogue with our own radical left proposals on the democratization of European institutions, on inequalities, on policies for fair growth, on the rebuilding the welfare state, on rights and freedoms, on the protection of the environment. We do not expect the referee to whistle, we have been working for a long time to create an alliance of the radical Left with social democracy and the Green parties”.

The hegemonic response to the crisis is still being sought 

On this very issue of the future of the Left in Europe, Tskalotos stressed in his Efimerida ton Syntakton article that the EU and its institutions (Eurogroup, ECB) have not been able to provide a solution to the social issues plaguing Europe, or to tackle the prevalent sense of injustice or the widespread view that the people cannot influence political decisions. Against this negative background, Tskalotos notes, one positive element is that there hasn’t emerged a new right-wing hegemonic proposal that could integrate the disaffected of the middle and popular classes.

The lack of a hegemonic right-wing plan can prolong the crisis, but it can also give opportunities to the Left. Tsakalotos mentions that at Eurogroup and Ecofin it is now common place that the architecture of the EU must change, and that his ideas for integrating social objectives (e.g. indicators of inequality, social exclusion or poverty), into binding EU rules, find some support.

Tsakalotos proposes it is important to view proposals, such as the issuing of Eurobonds, or a more centralized investment policy, as possibilities to expand the agenda and pave the way for more radical solutions, precisely because the hegemonic response to the crisis is still being sought and ‘the new consensus is under construction’.

As Tsakalotos points out, this is why the Greek Left did not give up in the summer of 2015: “not only because we could not leave the popular classes at the mercy of right-wing forces, but because we wanted to influence things, both in Greece and in Europe.”

What is at stake now,  Tsakalotos concludes, is what kind of program will help exit the crisis, what social block of forces will take hold, and the possibility to influence the shaping of a new Left that will inevitably emerge. “At the very least we will have left a Left-wing imprint in government; at best, we will be part of a new hegemony”.

See also: Tsakalotos: The focus now on relief for middle incomes

I.L.

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