In an atmosphere of fruitful confrontation of proposals and positions on issues related to entrepreneurship and development, the EBEA debate on “Economy, Investments, Enterprises” took place yesterday.

At the event, they developed their positions and answered questions from the public, representing the three largest parties in the Greek Parliament, Mr. Pavlos Marinakis, Secretary of the Political Committee of New Democracy, Mr. Dimitris Liakos, Advisor to the President of SYRIZA-PS on issues of Economy, Former Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, and Mr. Dimitris Manzos, PASOK – Movement for Change Spokesman.

“The May 21 elections are being held at a critical time for the Greek economy”, emphasized the President of EBEA, Mrs. Sophia Kounenaki Efraimoglou, in her speech at the start of the debate, as “in the last ten years, businesses – but also society – have gone through fire and iron and the results of this great effort are now beginning to be seen”. The question is, therefore, to ensure continuity, especially in an environment that is becoming more and more complex and uncertain. “In this fluid environment, it is important to know that we are walking on solid ground. Businesses need conditions that inspire security and trust. To be able to implement plans with a long-term horizon. To plan new investments and collaborations, to take advantage of extroversion opportunities, to implement innovations. So, whatever the outcome of the ballot box, the business world needs to know clearly how the next day is prescribed, in matters concerning the economy and the market. And we expect there to be a fruitful programmatic dialogue, in view of the elections, with clear positions and proposals, from all political forces”, said the President of EBEA, addressing the representatives of the parties.

In the discussion that followed, the Secretary of the Political Committee of New Democracy, Mr. Pavlos Marinakis, said: “I warmly thank the President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEA) Sofia Kounenaki Efraimoglou and the entire Board of Directors for the very useful and interesting opportunity to talk to people in the market about issues of the Economy and business, just a few days before the crucial elections of May 21. On May 21st we will choose how our country will proceed for the next few years. How our businesses will run, the future of our employees, we choose for our lives. And according to our own proposal, the choice is one and it is clear and unambiguous: an independent government of the New Democracy with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and a specific, realistic, costed program that the citizens know will be implemented.”

The Advisor to the President of SYRIZA-PS for Economic Affairs, Former Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Mr. Dimitris Liakos, after thanking the President and the members of the EBEA Board of Directors for the invitation, referred to the challenges facing the global and Greek economy and emphasized the need to change the production model in order to achieve the goal of fair, sustainable and inclusive development and the improvement of the country’s position in the global division of labour. He emphasized that we must proceed with important reforms and changes in a number of critical policy areas (public administration, justice, education system, health, etc.), aiming to create a developmental state, while he underlined the importance of the private sector of the economy and mainly of small and medium entrepreneurship, listing the positions – proposals of SYRIZA-PS included in its pre-election program.

For his part, the Spokesperson of PASOK – Movement for Change, Mr. Dimitris Manzos, noted that “Our goal is a resilient, sustainable and Greek economy. Stable, long-term, sustainable and quality. A development that will be created in Greece and stay in the country, will inject capital and know-how and create well-paid jobs. All this, of course, presupposes a national development plan, with sectoral policies – in industry, primary sector, tourism, defense. A plan that will ensure the correct and targeted redirection of the resources of the Recovery & Resilience Fund. In this context, the role of small and medium entrepreneurship is obvious, which must be supported with measures that will ensure not only sustainability but also innovation, digital transformation and energy adaptation of businesses. All this problematic is included in the stake of the May 21 elections and the central question: “in which country do we want to live?”. Social Justice and Development for all are not empty slogans, but realistic goals, which require a collective decision to change.”

The event was coordinated by Mr. Babis MoraitisGeneral Secretary of EBEA.