Mitsotakis το Bloomberg – We received a clear mandate to bring growth back to the Greek economy

“We came το government in 2019 with the clear mandate to bring growth back to the Greek economy. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, we have managed to implement important reforms. “The growth rate of the economy reached 16.2% in the second quarter of the year, we revised the growth estimate to 5.9% for 2021, and this is probably a pessimistic view,” Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Bloomberg, in the context of his visit to New York for the work of the 76th UN General Assembly.

“We also see great interest in foreign direct investment. The climate in Greece after 10 years of economic crisis has improved significantly,” he added.

Climate Crisis and Recovery Fund

“The climate crisis is affecting the Mediterranean basin in a brutal way,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We have already activated an ambitious de-lignification plan and Europe is at the forefront,” he said, adding: “In Greece, we are closing all lignite plants. We had set a goal [to do this] by 2028, but we will probably achieve it by 2025. We are adding Renewable Energy Sources to the energy mix the.”

As Kyriakos Mitsotakis explained, “all this is supported by the Recovery Fund. We are talking about 32 billion euros, which will be directed to Greece in the next 6 years “.

Increases in electricity prices

“We are committed to supporting energy consumers in Greece through state aid, but also by encouraging electricity providers to absorb some of the increase in the price of electricity,” he told Bloomberg. Prime Minister, during his visit to New York for the work of the 76th UN General Assembly. I estimate that there will not be a big increase in electricity prices for the next 3 to 6 months. We have also submitted a proposal at European level, so that there is a European solution to this problem,” added Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Greek-Turkish relations

Asked about Greece’s relations with Turkey, the Prime Minister replied that “We had a lot of tension with Turkey last year, this year the situation was better” to explain that “We have complicated issues with Turkey, very difficult issues of a legal nature regarding defining our maritime zones. There is only one way out and that is International Law. We had similar issues with Italy and Egypt with which we signed the relevant agreements for the maritime zones. “We have told Turkey that there is a way to resolve our differences, without the unnecessary tension in the Aegean and the Southeastern Mediterranean,” he added.

Immigration

Kyriakos Mitsotakis also referred to immigration. “We must also work with Turkey on immigration,” he said. “Europe will not tolerate a situation similar to what happened in 2015, namely uncontrolled migration flows. I am committed to protecting our borders and doing so with respect for human rights. At the same time, we are sending a very clear message that we will crack down on trafficking in the Aegean and we are doing it successfully,” he told Bloomberg during the visit to New York for the 76th General Assembly. UN.

Tourism

“We supported our tourism industry and managed to protect jobs,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, answering a question about tourism. “We had a very good tourist season, better than we originally expected, during the summer,” he added.  And the prime minister closed his interview with Bloomberg, saying that “We have a long-term plan to develop our domestic tourism product in a sustainable way and I expect 2022 to be a really good year for Greek tourism.”