Germany vows to invest, with some conditions
German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler and Development Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis on Friday signed deals aimed at boosting investment in several Greek sectors and reviving the country?s sluggish economy.
Roesler, who is leading a delegation of around 70 German entrepreneurs to Athens, stressed that there was real German interest in pursuing investments in Greece but he called first for the resolution of ?outstanding issues between German industry and the Greek state.?
?We believe that Greece can become a very important investment destination,? said Roesler. But the 38-year-old, who is also Germany?s vice chancellor, highlighted two conditions — firstly that the government implements much-needed reforms and secondly that the Greek state makes good on its debts to German companies. Greece is currently involved in a legal wrangle with German electronics giant Siemens after its alleged involvement in a cash-for-contracts scandal.
A memorandum of cooperation signed between the two sides suggested that Greece was determined to overcome all obstacles to German investments. ?We will try to immediately solve the disputes that exist between German firms and the Greek state,? it said.
Roesler referred to German interest in a 1.5-billion-euro investment in natural gas pipelines. The biggest investment on the cards, however, is the creation of a massive photovoltaic park, dubbed Project Helios, budgeted at 20 billion euros. Greece is likely to receive an advance payment for this project — cash that would go toward reducing its huge public debt — though it remains unclear how large this sum would be.
The German minister added that Germany?s KfW development bank was ready to provide expertise and loans to businesses interested in investing in Greece. In addition, Germany would help Greece absorb European Union subsidies aimed at boosting its competitiveness, he said.
Roesler also met with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, who insisted that Greece was on the right track to becoming an ?investment-friendly? country, a reference to reforms aimed at slashing Greece?s notorious bureaucracy and facilitating procedures for would-be investors. Venizelos repeated too that Roesler ?still regards Greece as a member of the eurozone,? following skepticism voiced by the German minister last month.
During his visit, Roesler also met Environment and Energy Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou, with whom he chiefly discussed Project Helios, and Prime Minister George Papandreou. Papandreou emphasized to his visitor the intensity of the reform effort being made by the government and the maturity being shown by the Greek people in the face of austerity.
