The war in Ukraine will put pressure on the Greek economy, but will not derail it, said the Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras, at a conference organized by the Money Review.
He reiterated that no member state can absorb the pressures of the new crisis on its own, stressing the need for European intervention, and when asked about it said that no redirection of funds of the Recovery Fund is currently planned.
The strong performance of the Greek economy and the importance of maintaining its fiscal credibility were mentioned by the chief economist of ESM Rolf Strauch, emphasizing that it is important that Greece aims at a primary surplus in 2023.
Shortly afterwards, the finance minister set the target of a return to primary surpluses from 2023 to a “realistic” level “if conditions allow”, and when asked about the possibility of extending the general escape clause in 2023, he referred to the discussion in the Eurogroup and to the Commission’s new macroeconomic estimates in May.
More broadly, the Minister of Finance on the revision of the Stability Pact highlighted the aspect of ownership and a framework of national fiscal targets, a direction which was also highlighted by the chief economist of the ESM.
For his part, ECB Vice President Luis de Guidos noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine will affect the development of the eurozone, but the growth trajectory is expected to remain even if the conflict escalates.
“Thus, we can so far rule out the possibility of stagnant inflation,” he said.
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