“It is not the end of the world if the International Monetary Fund will not take part in the Greek program, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Monday. “Greece is at the end of a difficult course,”Tsipras said addressing the parliamentary group of SYRIZA. He added that the government will have managed to meet one of its main aims by August: an exit from the memoranda and strict surveillance.
The prime minister underlined that the exit from memoranda and surveillance will mark the country’s return to normality.
He explained that this does not mean that all the problems are solved or that the government won’t still have serious issues to deal with, nor that Greece won’t have to meet fiscal targets and service its debt.
However, he noted, “it is quite different to have specific goals and a minimum of control over your European obligations than to have to co-govern with the troika.”
The Eurogroup on June 21 is a realistic time for the conclusion of the debate that will mark the beginning of the post-programme period, he said.
He referred to the priorities of the government’s strategic plan for growth, which will be presented to the next Eurogroup on April 27.
The government’s main targets, he said, are the following:
* Economic growth that is not based on the crushing of labour but on increasing labour productivity through investments in new technologies and innovation.
* Strengthening Greece’s position in the global value chain with focus on producing quality and competitive products.
* Strengthening the most dynamic sectors of the Greek economy.
-Transport and logistics
– Energy
– The agricultural sector and processing
– Infrastructure and digital economy
– Tourism, which continues to be the locomotive of growth in Greece.
At the same time, he forecast:
* The return to a regulated labour market and the strengthening of collective labour organizations via a restoration of collective bargaining, without which the legislative conditions for a collective organization of workers di not exist.
* The building for the first time in Greece of a strong social and welfare state that will guarantee the dignity and prosperity of the entire population. via amna
