Staikouras optimistic about finding fiscal space to help country

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras on Tuesday said he was optimistic that the government will once again find the necessary fiscal space to support households and enterprises.

In comments made to Skai Radio, Staikouras said it was too early to refer specifically to any future intervention before consulting with the prime minister over the government’s priorities.

“We need to stand by society constantly, we need to find fiscal space and return this to society with prudence since we have to be very careful with our public finances. We will have a primary deficit this year also, while our public debt is sustainable but the highest in Europe, we are still under enhanced surveillance and we don’t have investment grade,” the minister said.

He added that inflationary pressures were rising, while at the same time unemployment was shrinking and tax relief measures were supporting households’ available income.