The best days of the Greek economy are ahead of us, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis while attending the European Council today.

In detail, the Prime Minister stated:

“The European Council of March will have as its main issue the issues concerning the competitiveness of the European economy.

Greece comes to this debate from a much strengthened position compared to where it was in 2019. With an economy growing rapidly, unemployment falling, public debt as a percentage of GDP falling at the fastest rate in the entire European Union and with our country, now, being a champion in relation to historical statistics in attracting foreign investments.

This allows the Greek Government to be able to continue to support our weaker fellow citizens in the face of imported precision, but it also makes us more optimistic that the better days of the Greek economy are still ahead of us.

To be sure, Europe faces a number of major economic challenges. I am not only referring to the imported precision, which is a result of the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, I am also referring to the issues related to high lending rates, an increase in interest rates which the European Central Bank deems necessary in order to contain inflation .

We know that this an increase in interest rates also puts pressure on Greek borrowersas it obliges them to allocate a larger part of their disposable income for their loan services.

But I want to emphasize that the other side of the coin, the progress we have made in recent years, is that our banks are now strong. And in the face of the global financial storm that has unfolded in recent weeks, I want to assure, once again, all Greek depositors that the Greek banking system is strong and that their deposits are protected.

And of course, as Greece will continue to make progress and -finally- obtain the coveted investment grade, we will be able to expect that the cost of borrowing for Greek businesses, for Greek households, for the Hellenic Republic will also decrease, with as a result of which we are not so negatively dependent on any interest rate increase determined by the European Central Bank.