Tsipras: «Convert the refundable advance payment into a non-refundable one.»

Supporting in particular small and medium-sized enterprises and jobs in the pandemic, but also «strategic» interventions to improve the real economy, focused his statement on Chamber of Pieria, the president of the SYRIZA - Progressive Alliance, Alexis Tsipras, at a meeting with representatives of productive bodies of the county.

«There are some interventions that should be made, of a strategic nature. One of them is the subsidy to businesses, as well as the subsidy to work and not to suspend work,» Tsipras said, adding: «I proposed, during the last debate on the budget, as long as we do not enter into the logic of subsidising businesses, even if it the repayable (advance payment) becomes non-repayable. For the very simple reason, thou shalt not receive but thou hast. I hope they will take this proposal seriously.».

The President of SYRIZA stressed the need to banks to better perform their role of providing liquidity to the real economy and lending to businesses, which can survive, as he said that no economy, even in normal conditions, can grow without financial instruments.

«Particularly today, I think it is unthinkable what is happening. I will tell you one thing. Greek banks have increased their liquidity to close to sixty billion, up from fifty-six billion in 2020. For various reasons, mainly because they were favoured by the ECB's umbrella of protection. What did they give from this increase in liquidity to the real economy? Around ten billion, up from fifty-six billion,» he said:

«50% of that money was given to four, five business groups. 80% of that money was given to 12% of businesses in the country, businesses with over two hundred and fifty employees. And the remaining 20 % to everyone else. And some businesses don't even have access to this lending, they can't even walk out of the bank branches. This is an obvious glitch, and if it is not addressed, we are going to have a problem, we are going to have a problem, overall, I would say, with entrepreneurship in the country.».

«And we're not talking about (zombie) companies, as government ministers have been describing them lately - suddenly, where you were the backbone of the Greek economy, now you're zombies - we're talking about companies that have problems, no doubt, but they can survive.».

The President of SYRIZA also stressed that it is necessary regulation of private sector debt and withdrawal of the bankruptcy law, while reiterating the three amendments tabled by SYRIZA, but rejected, for the Christmas gift, the doubling of social solidarity income and the freeze on service interruptions for electricity, telephone, internet bills, etc.

The meeting was attended by the president of the Chamber of Pieria, Elias Hadjichristodoulou, the president of the Hotel Owners Association of Pieria Iraklis Tsitlakidis, the president of the owners of shops of sanitary interest of Pieria Nikos Ntoulas, the president of the Commercial Association of Pieria Kostas Rehas, the MP of SYRIZA Betty Skoufa. In Pieria, Alexis Tsipras was accompanied by the deputy head of the Health Department of SYRIZA and MP for Thessaloniki, Dora Avgeri, MP for Pieria of SYRIZA Betty Skoufa and the two former MPs of the party Charilaos Tsamaklis and Asterios Kastoris.