Staikouras confirms plan for pandemic debts

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras announced a new favorable regulation for the debts of the pandemic during an interview on Open TV on Saturday.

As he said, the relevant discussion has already started with the institutions in the context of the 11th post-bailout assessment, while this week the issue will be raised in contacts with the heads of the institutions with a view to implementing a new regulation for the debts run up over the 15-month period of the pandemic.

These are the debts that have been postponed for 2022, while the new regulation may include other household debts that were created during the pandemic.

“We have a comprehensive plan for the debts of the last 15 months,” the finance minister said.

He noted that the issue will dominate discussions with the creditors, as will the reduction of taxes and contributions implemented by the government during the 10th evaluation.

Staikouras described the course of the Greek economy as satisfactory, reiterating the forecast for a recovery of 3.6% this year, although, as he noted, according to a number of other estimates, GDP growth may reach 5%.