More mortgages, as well as loans to businesses in the process of restructuring, he calls them banks give your head Prime Minister’s Financial Office Alexis Patelis, by identifying weaknesses in the banking system in these areas that need to be corrected in the near future.

IN his interview with “K”, Mr. Patelis positively assesses the four-year report, stating, among other things, that many important reforms have been carried out, that the country has seen the largest improvement in the business climate in the last three years among 81 countries, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. that progress has been made in curbing tax evasion if, on this issue too, he admits that there is still work to be done, since, according to him, 2 out of 3 freelancers declare an income of less than 10,000 euros.

He disagrees that the tax cuts favored businesses and the self-employed more than middle-class employees. Speaking about the next step in this matter, he mentions a reduction in insurance premiums, while saying that indexation of the tax scale is not planned.

He also claims that investments have increased in all categories, responding to criticism, including from former Prime Minister K. Simitis, that they are focused on building and acquiring existing enterprises. The goal of the plan over the next four years is to increase investment by 70% to 18% of GDP and double it by 2030, he said.

Through investments, as well as reforms, he “sees” that wage increases are being achieved, which is the central direction of N.D.’s economic policy. for the next four years. But at the same time, he is urging businesses to raise wages and improve working conditions, as the prime minister has spoken about in the past. Mrs Mitsotakis.

He also talks about the need for an independent government and argues that PASOK is not the driving force behind the reforms.

The concept of evaluation as a whole distinguishes N.D. from other parties. It is applied to teachers, gets acquainted with civil servants, the judiciary.

– The purposefulness of tax cuts was conscious and mainly concerned the easing of wage labor and capital. In terms of employment, we saw a reduction in social security contributions by 4.4 units, the elimination of the solidarity levy, and in terms of capital, among other things, a reduction in corporate tax and tax on dividends. In total, we had 50 tax breaks. I don’t agree with your point of view that they weren’t aimed at the middle class. However, they have created a virtuous circle. For the new four-year period, the goal remains to further simplify the taxation of paid work, especially through insurance premiums.

Today it is not in our schedule.

– I read the corresponding criticism of the former Prime Minister K. Simitis and, I confess, impressed me, because investments in only one sector, production, amounted to 1 billion euros per year in 2021 and 2022, i.e. more than the total annual investment of the period 2002-2004. According to the Bank of Greece, almost every category, be it manufacturing or services, will see growth in 2021-2022 compared to previous years. Well, what is written that they focused on a particular area is not true. Also, when companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Pfizer, etc. announce investments, what can we say?

– Let’s see what others have to say: in a recent analysis, the Economist Intelligence Unit concluded that Greece was the country with the most improvement in the business climate over the past three years out of 81 countries.

– In less than four years, more than 400 bills have been adopted. I single out as a very important bill on giving a second chance to over-indebted borrowers, which created a framework for restructuring and bankruptcy that was not in our country, the introduction of TEKA, the capitalization system in additional insurance, the reform of the OAED and the training and labor bill systems.

Many reforms, unfortunately, did not receive the proper support of reform supporters in the country. I’ll give you a more recent example, the water bill, which apparently does not privatize, but introduces a very important reform, the oversight of state-owned water companies by an independent government regulator. For the country to change, we must all support the changes that are being carried out against the sirens of populism.

– Speeding up the administration of justice is a government priority and is included in Greece 2.0 as a separate program. Of course, this will be one of the priorities for the next four years. The Justice Plan includes the digitization of court documents, training of judges, a new court map, new courts, specialized courts, and the biggest challenge: judge evaluation.

The concept of evaluation as a whole distinguishes the New Democracy from other parties. It is applied to teachers, gets acquainted with civil servants, the judiciary. I would ask the centrist voters who think that the coalition government of N.D. with PASOK, we could speed up the reforms if they realized that PASOK was against the assessment and voted against the relevant laws that we brought. PASOK is not the driving force behind reforms, and a possible cooperative government will delay rather than speed up reforms in our country.

Banks will issue more mortgage loans

“Imagine if the Greek banking system was in the same condition today as it was in 2019, when almost half of the loans on its books were in the red. Or if voices were heard that were against the recapitalization of Piraeus in 2021. Today we would be talking about a new banking crisis.

We also need to increase the workforce by removing barriers to work.

The priorities for the next four years are obviously to withdraw investments from the Financial Stability Fund, as well as encourage competition in the banking system, so that the citizen also wins. The provision of housing loans today is still very low, and its increase is not sufficiently included in the business plans of banks, which is wrong. Companies emerging from the restructuring process also need similar assistance. There is also the Fintech challenge that has also started to come to Greece and we should encourage it. Only in this way we will have a continuous improvement of the services provided.

– You promise that in the next four years the focus will be on increasing the income of employees. How will it be done?

– If in the first four years the main goal was to increase jobs, then in the second – to increase wages. Let’s start with 11% unemployment and many employers complaining that they can’t find workers. The answer is still the same: raise wages and improve working conditions.

In addition, the widespread use of the digital labor card is a huge reform, and the independence of the Labor Inspectorate will give more power to the worker. And, of course, we need to increase the size of the workforce by removing barriers to work that are likely to exist today and ensure continuity of learning.

From now on, only by bringing investments closer together can we come close to the European average in terms of wages, that is, not only stay in Europe, but also become Europe. We work to have both investments and higher wages. And that is why we aim to increase investment by 70% by 2027, approaching 18% of GDP, and by 100% by 2030. And this is only the self-sufficient government of N.D. can bring.

In the public sector, it is planned to increase payroll spending by 500 million euros from 01/01/2024, with support mainly for low-paid and responsible positions, while the incentive system is already beginning to be implemented.

When do you expect to reach investment grade?

– The goal for 2023 remains. According to a recent Bloomberg analysis, Greek bonds are valued by the markets as if they were already investment grade.

Of course, there are still many investors and portfolio managers who are not allowed by their charter to invest in Greece. We will reach investment grade in 2023.

Three key conditions have already been met: debt reduction as a percentage of GDP, continued reforms, and banking stability. It remains to bet on political stability, and I believe that this year we will have an upgrade.

There were no derailments due to the measures

We have received criticism from both sides. First, reluctantly and despite evidence to the contrary, we risked fiscal collapse. Ultimately, instead of a primary deficit of 1.6%, we will be close to 0%, with the largest reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio in the world. Secondly, with the support of the population and business, we will not have a reduction in natural gas consumption. As a result, the fall was 19%, more than the European average.

– Your critics say that in this way you perpetuate the bonus culture.

– Benefits are problematic when they are permanent, non-targeted and create barriers to work. But the vulnerable need to be supported, especially in times of temporary crises.