The government is seriously considering the possibility of gradually opening up the economy, with retail trade topping the list of priorities, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said.
«The our basic scenario is that since the week after next will begin to operate with a regularity the economy. However, we have alternative scenarios to weigh up our cash resources for the support we should provide. We are here to support society as much as we need to. But the longer the situation is prolonged, the less the possibility to cover as much as possible the existing losses,» Staikouras said, speaking to the radio station Proto Thema.
Continuing, the minister noted that the closure of the sector costs the economy 200 to 250 million euros. «The two weeks that have passed with lockdown, cost 1.2 billion in spending and tax cuts, and with 520 million in retail trade. At 3 billion is the total cost for one month and approximately 750 million is focused on retail trade», he said.
According to Christos Staikouras, «if the restart begins in March, then we will be closer to the goals of Budget. Think that only 4 billion will be more than the 4 billion primary outcome from the new support measures», noting that this is not the time for budget review. «We don't have sufficient data for 2021 and we don't know how the economy will work yet for the second 15 days of March,’ he added on the course of the GDP this year.
«We have a positive “carry over”, but also an unfavourable development of the course in in relation to the budget estimate. So, we have in 2021 a contradictory picture for 2021. Everything has to be taken into account,» he said. He also stated that «the economy held up in 2020, but no one is celebrating. Of course, in terms of what could have happened given the dependence on tourism, it is correct to say that we have endured in the end.» Finally, with regard to the support measures He noted that «in 2020 we gave 20 billion and another 11.6 billion in 2021», adding that in the first half of this year the disbursement of funds from the Recovery Fund.
