Reforms are a must

The Greek government is planning all sorts of fanfare to mark the “end” of the memorandums in August, in spite of numerous warnings concerning the dangers of any backtracking on reforms.

It appears to ignore the fact that what we are looking for is initiatives that will improve conditions and lead to sustainable growth, and not public relations stunts. There is still a very long way to go to this end, as the leadership continues to maintain a hostile stance toward investment and entrepreneurship.

More importantly, the government has done nothing to improve and strengthen the structure of the Greek economy, as an interesting study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) on the private sector has pointed out. This means that more institutional reforms will be needed, geared mainly toward the development of a positive business environment.