Economou: Greece made significant economic progress

"In the past year, despite an extremely difficult global environment, Greece withstood the pressures and was able to make significant progress in the economy, in the organisation of the state, in the defensive and diplomatic strengthening of the country," government spokesperson Yiannis Economou said on Wednesday during the first press briefing of 2023.

"The great changes and improvements were not always as noticeable as they could have been, or as noticeable as they deserved, because they were often clouded by the big problems that had accumulated as a result of the international crises. But all Greeks now know from personal experience that taxes have been lowered rapidly, that they are protected from high prices in electricity, that they enjoy thousands of digital conveniences in their dealings with the public sector. That migration is under control, pensions are paid on time and even increased, that the country is significantly strengthened defensively and has drastically upgraded its international prestige. The defenses erected against international crises are holding fast, both because our government has a strong will to protect society and because the citizens' support for the government is essential," he stressed. "And it is essential because there is a dialectic of truth between the government and society," he added.

Economou underlined that there is a long and difficult road ahead, but that the country is heading in the right direction and once the current pressures are lifted, the amount of progress that has been made over the last period will be clearly visible.

He also stressed that, with knowledge and planning, the priority is for society to prosper without anyone being left behind. "In 2023, the positive results of our policies will become even more apparent because the difficult part of dealing with crises and institutional preparation is behind us," he said and pointed out that "Greece in the next four years, with a strong ND government, will be able to increase salaries so that we converge to the levels of the strongest EU countries and Greeks can permanently overcome the disadvantages accumulated during the years of the memorandums." As he said, this will be done through development policies that will not compromise the stability of the country and the resilience of the economy.

Moreover, he referred to the government's planning for 2023. He said that the policy plan for the new year includes 19 detailed action plans for each ministry, with a total of 111 legislative interventions planned for the new year, 121 policy goals set, and 486 actions and 1,913 projects launched.