Achieving a major national goal is a fact, says finance minister, Christos Staikourascommenting on the upcoming August 20 withdrawal of Greece from increased supervision.

This withdrawal was also confirmed a few days ago in a letter to the Greek government by Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.

This letter stated that our country has fulfilled most of the political commitments made to the Eurogroup, that it has effectively carried out reforms despite the adverse conditions caused by health and, more recently, by the geopolitical crisis, and that, in this way, it has significantly strengthened the stability of its economy.

As Mr. Staikouras notes, this development, together with the early repayment of the International Monetary Fund loans and the lifting of capital restrictions, “closes a difficult chapter for our country” in 12 years, and “Greece returns to European normality and ceases to be an exception in the eurozone.”

The Minister of Finance notes that the country’s exit from increased supervision has many advantages:

• This strengthens the position of Greece in international markets.
• This gives an additional impetus to its growth potential and investment attractiveness.
• It provides degrees of freedom in the implementation of economic policy within, of course, existing rules that apply to all European member states.
• This brings us closer to achieving our last goal – restoring the investment level.

“Until today, despite unprecedented, multi-level crises and new pan-European and international challenges, we have proved, citizens and the state, that we can succeed. We set goals and thanks to planning, unity, determination, self-confidence and hard work, we achieve them! We are making our country stronger in every aspect,” concludes Christos Staikouras in a related statement.