FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces the national curfew as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Maximos mansion in Athens, Greece, on March 22, 2020. Greek Prime Minister’s Office / Dimitris Papamitsos / Brochure via REUTERS
(Reuters) – Greece will not accept strict European Union conditions on the use of coronavirus emergency aid, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the Financial Times newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
“The Greeks have matured a lot. And we want to make our own reforms, “he was quoted as saying.
A six-monthly review of economic performance by the European Commission was sufficient and there was no need for any additional “strict conditionality,” he said.
The prime minister told the FT that Greece had a “very aggressive reform agenda” that would focus on “the green transition”, “the digital transition” and investment incentives in part through a privatization program.
On Friday, speaking in parliament, he announced new measures worth 3.5 billion euros ($ 4 billion) to support companies affected by a blockade imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Greece emerged from a decade-long debt crisis in 2018 and expected strong growth in 2020. But the national blockade imposed in March to prevent coronavirus infections has turned those expectations upside down.
The Greek economy is expected to contract between 8% and 10% this year before recovering in 2021.
Kanishka Singh’s report in Bangalore; Editing by William Mallard
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