Pandemic measures have come up to €24 billion

The total value of 59 government measures designed to offset losses from the health crisis has come to 24 billion euros, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said in response to a question in Parliament on Friday.

That amount is likely to grow further, depending on the course of the pandemic and the momentum of the economy, taking also into account the fiscal and cash leeway available, the minister added. He reminded that the government has introduced and applied these measures without having received a single euro in European resources to date.

Even so, the ministry is saving fuel for the period of the economy’s restructuring, Staikouras noted, stressing that this is the reason why the government has implemented a sensible and responsible use of the cash reserves.

The original cash buffer of the Greek state amounts to €31 billion, to which the state has added another €5 billion from two bond issues during the crisis plus an additional €2 billion from the issue of treasury bills. Notably the state has drawn higher amounts than usual from T-bills, at interest rates similar to those before the outbreak of the virus.