Lagarde: Greek economy and people an example of resilience

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde on Wednesday praised the return of Greece’s economy to health and the resilience of the Greeks following its debt crisis more than ten years ago.

“The people of Greece have been on a long journey. It has been a hard journey. But they never lost sight of the destination. And much has been gained along the way. As we all know, the crisis that erupted in 2009 – and the program of fiscal adjustment and structural reforms it entailed – took an exceptionally heavy toll,” she said in her speech during a formal dinner in Athens where she is visiting for the ECB board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday,

Lagarde said that, after the fiscal adjustment Greece was obliged to make, the coronavirus pandemic  contracted the economy by a further 9% in 2020.

“Yet, despite this succession of setbacks, the country’s resilience has been remarkable. Thanks to the hard work that has been done to make the economy more flexible, Greece has made an impressive comeback from the pandemic,” she said. 

“But it is not only the economy that has been resilient – it is also the Greek people. There were times when they could have chosen a different path. Yet they have remained committed to being at the heart of Europe, even in the hardest of times.”

The governors of the national central banks of the eurozone and the six members of ECB’s executive committee are meeting at BoG’s headquarters in central Athens to decide on monetary policy.