ΓΡΑΦΕΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ ΠΡΩΘΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΥ
Τρίτη, 8 Οκτωβρίου 2013
First
of all let me thank everyone for being here, which is really warm, very warm
greeting that we get and we want to thank you for your hospitality. Over the
last years, dear friends, Greece and Israel, have developed a strategic
partnership. A partnership that underlies a shared system of values. We each
have a unique History, which is a blend of traumas and glory. We both have
strong Diaspora’s all over the world. Our peoples share a charisma in
entrepreneurship, in trade and in creativity. Above all, in an unstable region
and in a turbulent era, our two nations can become pillars of regional stability
and of democratic values. Upon this shared perspective, I call upon the leaders
who are here tonight of Greek and Israeli entrepreneurship to make the
difference.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Both
on behalf of Vangelis Venizelos and the entire delegation I want to thank you
very much for being here tonight. It is a clear indication of the prospects for
the future. It is also a strong evidence of the territory we have covered,
since the early 90’s, when Greece made a long, very long, overdue step forward
with the “De Jure” recognition of the State of Israel by the Hellenic Republic.
I was Minister of Foreign Affairs then. And this was one of my most proud
signatures.
Dear
friends,
I
would like to tell you that following a number of difficult years, stability
has returned in Greece. Firstly, Greece itself stabilized, both economically
and politically; And secondly, our domestic stabilization already had repercussions
beyond the Greek borders. Last year Greece, you remember, was considered by
many to be a “trouble spot” for Europe; many voices then predicting or even advocating
the infamous “Grexit”, that Greece exiting the Eurozone. Now there is no “Grexit” any more! Greece has confirmed and stabilized
its position as an integral part of the European Union and the euro; and today
everyone expects us to have a recovery next year, after 6 consecutive years of a
very recession.
Last
week I was in the United States of America. I had a very productive meeting
with Vice- President Baiden, two months after I had the pleasure of a meeting
with President Obama. I also met with the Senate leadership and House leaders. And
finally, I met with distinguished representatives of the American Jewish
Community and with the Hellenic and Israeli Caucus which we have built on the
Capitol Hill. So, for the first time,
there is a Greek-Israeli Caucus in Washington, which implies a lot of
diplomatic and political synergy and weight that can be given for the prospects
of both countries. And I had the opportunity to update them on the progress we
have made. And to present to them the “new Greece” we are building. And to
elaborate on the challenges that Greece is facing, most importantly, on the
promising perspectives and the opportunities that our economy can offer. And I
saw there the same thing that I experience here, tonight: A deep respect for a
nation that had to suffer a severe crisis. And a genuine appreciation for the
efforts of a country which sacrificed so much to safeguard its European
identity and its prospects for a new, growth oriented, economic comeback.
Indeed,
in the last 6 years, Greece has lost 25% of its pre-crisis GDP; the average
Greek citizen has lost about 35 to 40% of his standard of living in just four
years, if you are to add taxes’ implementation. And we have plunged into a 27%
unemployment for the general population and over 60% for our youth! However,
thanks to the sacrifices and thanks to the bravery of our people, what has been
achieved is really impressive. As Vangelis Venizelos told, this is a record
fiscal adjustment among all OECD member countries in the history of the OECD organization.
And let me just give you a small fact-sheet of the Greek accomplishments so
far: We have cut our deficit by more than 15% of our GDP in just three
years. In the mean time, our overall
debt increased only marginally, due to the biggest “haircut” that took place in
Greece ever, plus an additional and
also unprecedented debt buyback. We are currently producing a primary surplus
for the first time in about 10 years. Put it in another way, Greece, today, as
it stands, has the largest cyclically corrected surplus in the Eurozone, about
6% of our GDP, according to separate surveys by the IMF, the European Commission
and the OECD. According to the same surveys, we are currently having a structural
surplus. When in the Eurozone overall they have a structural deficit!
What
do those numbers tell us? That if we were to reach our current potential, we
could cover all our expenses, including the interest payments, and still have
some surplus to reduce our debt annually. In other words, the trend has been clearly
reversed and Greece is about to get out of the crisis. In fact, all analysts
predict that recovery is going to start any time now and that the year 2014
will be a positive one.
Updated
official reviews show that the 2013 recession will be smaller than earlier
predicted. Official data show that for the first time in four years,
unemployment is marginally decreasing from the first to the second quarter of
2013. Another important sign is our trade deficit, which had climbed to 15% of our
GDP by 2009, and is now down to zero, for the first time in decades! In an even
broader perspective, our January to July results show this year that our
current accounts are also in a surplus, for the first time after 30 years! And
this underlines the major structural rebalancing of the Greek economy already achieved.
This
structural rebalancing is fully verified by the OECD “Going for Growth” survey,
according to which Greece already ranks in the first position among all OECD
countries in implementing growth oriented reforms. I am talking about
structural reforms. Not only fiscal consolidation, but structural changes as
well.
And
I would like to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that Greece is open for business. We focus on
improving trade and investments, aiming at achieving 50% of GDP through exports
of goods and services by the year 2020. We are changing our culture, from a lot
of “Red Tape” to the best “Red Carpet” treatment an Investor can have. We
already took steps with our New Investment Law, to improve the business
environment, focusing initially at strategic investments, as they are important
for improving the sentiment in the economy. More specifically:
We have created a
Central licensing authority for all large Investments, reducing substantially
the time and complexity of the licensing process.
We have
established an account manager for each strategic investment, to support each
project for the beginning to completion.
We have created a
new legal instrument, a Special Space Development Plan for Strategic
Investments, in order to solve planning issues with certainty and in a timely
manner.
Finally, we now
provide residence permits for all strategic investors and buyers of fixed
property above €250.000 (contract value). This is an opportunity especially to
potential investors from non-EU countries, to benefit from our country’s
strategic location.
We already have
had positive results. Allow me to give
you some; FDI in Greece has more than doubled in 2012 and remains high
in 2013. New major investments include the TAP pipeline (€1,5bn., 478 k/m, Greece, Albania, Italy), which will
create 2.000 direct & 10.000 indirect jobs in manufacture and industry. A
project of significant strategic and economic importance, not only for Greece,
but for Europe as a whole. Very recently, for instance, Hewlett Packard agreed
with our national railways (TRAINOSE) and the Chinese Cosco company in Piraeus,
which manages the basic Greek port, on the movement of its products to Central
and Eastern Europe and North Africa. Other companies are looking to make
similar agreements, establishing Greece as a logistics center. We have also
seen new investments or domestic production increases from a number of leading
players like Unilever, Phillip Morris, Henkel, Nestle, Barilla, Bic, KRAFT,
Nokia – Siemens Networks, Vodafone. In
short, what we are doing is we are turning the ship around and we have reversed the negative trends.
Both quantitatively and qualitatively! Both in terms of fiscal consolidation
and in terms of structural reforms. We have stabilized our economy and we have
started to ascend. We have also stabilized Greece politically!
As we all know, in
periods of severe economic crisis, agony, pain and deprivation fuel populism
and extremism in any society. In our case, unfortunately, we even witnessed an
abominable neo-Nazi party. It is a real shame when such a party shows up
in any part of the world. Even more so, it is a shame for Greece, a
country that lost 10% of its population during its occupation by the
Nazis.
However, we give
them zero tolerance! Following some bloody incidents of violence, we are in the
process of eradicating Golden Dawn from our political life! Many leading
members of this party have been brought to Justice. Their top leaders are
already in jail! And recent polls indicated
dramatic fall in their influence. We have been decisive and effective.
What’s equally
important, we are in the process of deracinating this phenomenon strictly
within our constitutional framework, that is fully abiding by democratic
standards. Democracy and the rule on law are stronger than extremism! Our
people is mature enough to prevail over populism. The Greek people already see
the first results of our efforts. And the more hopeful they become, the more
stable the country gets.
But dear friends,
Stabilizing
Greece, both economically and politically, has a major potential impact also which extends beyond our borders. We
live in a region, the Eastern Mediterranean, which is currently, as we all know, in a turmoil.
Developments in the Arab world, Syria and other trouble spots generate
instability. We can become, more than ever, a “beacon of stabilization”.
In partnership and close collaboration with other countries, like Israel and
Cyprus.
Actually, Greece,
Cyprus and Israel are democracies and growth oriented societies in our region.
So they have common perspectives on regional stability and common concerns on
security. But, nowadays, they have another major thing in common: There are
huge energy resources in their sea in the Eastern Mediterranean. Resources than
can actually give new momentum for growth and prosperity for the whole region, as Silvan Shalom, my friend just indicated,
and of course water determination and
further regional cooperation in open in the region. These are resources
that can provide strategic energy supplies to Europe. So there are new
incentives for long term cooperation between our countries: to untap, develop
and transport energy resources.
All and all there
are energy issues, there are geopolitical issues and there are common values
and cultural ties that bind us together. It is along those lines that we should
combine our efforts. Because there is no Freedom without Security, as there is
no Peace without Justice. And in the same manner that long term Prosperity
cannot be achieved without Peace and Stability.
So it is only
natural to establish communication links between the entrepreneurial
communities of our two countries. To get to know each other better, to
exchange information on investment or research projects and to lay solid
foundations for future working together. This is what makes so important
tomorrow`s program of sectoral visits, from Medicines and Healthcare to Financial
Markets, from IT and Telecomms to Agriculture, to Energy opportunities, to
water management technology. And I note with great satisfaction the fact that
more than 300 B2B meetings have already been arranged, more than 400.
The direction is
clear.
Greece has all the
comparative advantages to become, for instance, a commercial and a regional
hub, one of the most competitive tourism destinations in the world, the global
leader in Mediterranean food products, an energy powerhouse for Europe and the
region. I ask you to join us in this irreversible growth trend. To discover
Greece as your home.
Greece feels like
home to Israelis and to the global Jewish community. I also ask you to become
partners in financing projects
in real estate development, in tourism services, in high tech, in research and
development, in the field of sustainable energy resources. We need your
expertise and we also need your start-up culture, especially hi tech start-ups.
I ask you finally
to actively participate in re-launching Greece and helping us shape a more
dynamic future in our region. I believe opportunity is here and now.
Our nations know
very well the recipe of making history.
They know the
meaning of the word perseverance. We are both nations of survivors! So we can walk together, the
road to Growth and Peace!
Thank you very
much.
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