Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took part in an online panel discussion organized by the European People’s Party (EPP) on the topic of job creation and recovery after the pandemic, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Chairman of the EPP Group at the European Parliament, Manfred Weber.
The Prime Minister’s introductory statement:
Good afternoon from Athens to Ursula, to Manfred, to Esther. It’s a pleasure to participate in this panel. Very interesting remarks made by both Manfred and Ursula. Let me just add some thoughts from the national level.
First of all Member States -Greece included- spent a lot of money to make sure that we protected as many jobs as possible during the pandemic. We did it by using various schemes: short-term work schemes, furlough schemes, subsidizing social security contributions.
Our goal was always to make sure that we maintain the productive capacity of the economy intact, in order for us to be able to restart economic activity once the pandemic is over. And whilst I fully agree with Ursula’s remarks that it is not the job of the state to create jobs in normal times, it was and still is the job of the state to protect jobs in abnormal times, such as the ones we are currently experiencing.
However, before we talk about new job creation, we need to be very careful and we need to avoid what we call the “cliff-edge” effect and make sure that we remove the support mechanisms that we have put in place regarding job protection carefully and gradually.
I am happy that it has been agreed that also for 2022 we will invoke the general escape clause regarding budgetary restraints, because it is very clear to me that we cannot move from the current state of play to a normal state of play instantaneously. This needs to happen gradually because we are all concerned about what is going to be the real impact on the jobs market once we start removing the support schemes that we have put in place.
I also share Ursula’s optimism that we clearly see the end of the tunnel. We do see the light of the end of the tunnel. We’re still not absolutely sure how much time we will spend in the tunnel, but the twin impact of mass vaccination really kicking in combined with the improved weather makes me quite optimistic that, come late spring, early summer we will be exiting this crisis for good.
And because tourism is very important in Greece, also for job retention and job creation, I would also like to commend Ursula’s comments on the vaccine certification. Let’s get this done as quickly as possible in order to facilitate travel post-pandemic.
Once we leave the pandemic behind, obviously the priority will be to not only make sure that we maintain the existing jobs, but also in the case of Greece, where we still have intrinsic high unemployment – create new, sustainable and well-paying jobs in the post-pandemic environment.
And I would also like to highlight -from my perspective- the importance of the RRF facility for a country such as Greece. Let me just put it in context, in real numbers. What we have agreed at the European level means an additional 32 billion euros for Greece over the next six years, out of which 19 billion euros is going to be through direct grants. And the balance is going to be through loans, hopefully channeled directly to companies that can actually benefit from them.
Now, this has a huge multiplying effect for job creation, especially if you combine it with the important reforms that we have already done in order to make the foundations of our economy more competitive.
What I would like to point out, dear Manfred, dear Ursula is that we never stopped doing reforms even during the pandemic. And this was particularly important because we also know that there’s not going to be any free money available, to the extent that the Commission has taken the very bold step to borrow money at its level to channel it to member states we also need to make sure that we keep our end of the bargain and that we reform in order to make our economies more competitive. And we will do it not because it is a “Brussels directive” to actually move in that direction. But because we fundamentally believe that this is the right thing to do in order to create jobs, especially for young people.
So for example in Greece, as we speak we’re voting on a new public procurement law that takes out old bureaucratic constraints while fully conforming with the European framework for public procurement. We have made significant simplifications when it comes to licensing, we have lowered taxes. We expect Greece to significantly rise in the Doing Business index. That means that Greece is back on the map in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, which we know is so important in terms of job creation.
And some of the initiatives presented by Ursula are also flagship projects within the national, the Greek plan regarding the RRF. Let me just highlight, for example, how important the retrofitting of buildings is for the Greek economy. This is not just about decreasing our carbon footprint -and we know that all buildings consume a lot of energy- it is about creating jobs in the building materials industry, it’s about giving plumbers, electricians and home painters jobs, because they will be the ones that will actually perform these activities.
It’s also about reducing, at the end of the day, the bill that households pay, because their houses are going to become more energy efficient. And it’s also about technology, because we are making our homes “smarter,” so there is a clear digital component, even in this project.
So this is just one example of how we can structure win-win projects with the help of the European Union. Another example is the hard core of de-carbonization, how do you get rid of coal-fired electricity plants? We have a region in Greece, Western Macedonia, that was for many decades the heartland of energy production, and it burned dirty coal, lignite. We took the bold decision to move away from lignite and to shut down these plants as early as possible.
So, how do you create jobs to replace those jobs in the old coal mines? Well, in the short term you can create jobs by making sure that you actually reclaim and recover the land that has been used for lignite (mining). But this is not a long-term prospect, we need to attract manufacturing to this region, we need to attract education. We are replacing the old lignite mines with significant investments in renewables, primarily solar. And we’re also developing sophisticated agribusiness and tourism in a region of Greece that is not very well known. And when you actually add up the numbers, Manfred and Ursula, you realize that you can almost create more jobs this way than having people work in coal mines, which is probably not the sort of jobs we actually want for our youth.
But we have to be ambitious and we have to explain that this can be done and that the rich European support in this process. Otherwise people are going to become angry and they will not buy into our vision.
Last point, raised by both Manfred and Ursula, which I consider particularly important, the question of skills. Even before the pandemic struck, we knew that we were in the midst of a profound technological transformation that is completely reshaping the future of work.
And we know that the concept with which we grew up, you go to school, you get a degree, you get a job, you retire, is probably no longer going to be valid for the next generation. And that we constantly need to learn and update our skills in order to be competitive in a rapidly changing jobs market.
That’s why in our RRF plan the skills component is so important when it comes to upskilling, reskilling, but also certifying new skills, we want to do it in conjunction with the private sector. Even today in Greece -this may be surprising to you- but this is a country that has 16% unemployment, yet 30% of the employees tell us that they cannot find the people with the right skills. So there’s clearly a fundamental mismatch between what the labor market offers and what companies actually require.
Last point of great importance to me: how do you support entrepreneurship? Job creation through business creation. We haven’t been particularly good, in Europe, in creating ecosystems around entrepreneurship, with strong venture capital support for R&D, but I think this is beginning to change. I think it is a very hopeful sign, we certainly see it in Greece, a vibrant ecosystem of startups and of young people who actually want to set up their own companies rather than just be salaried employees. I think this is a particularly important development that needs to be supported both at the national and at the local level.
So, let me sum up by saying we certainly have our hands full. The pandemic has changed certain things for good and we will need to adapt. One of them will be the ability to probably work from anywhere, year-round, which is probably a comparative advantage for a country such as Greece, which can offer good connectivity and good quality of life.
But we need to be fully aware, as the EPP, that the jobs agenda is the make-or-break agenda for the next five years for our political family. And it is the primary message that will resonate with the younger generation that is viewing this changing labor environment, compounded by the pandemic, with -I think, as Ursula pointed out- justified concern. And we need to do everything in our ability to make sure that they view the future with the optimism that the younger generation actually deserves.
During the panel discussion, Prime Minister Mitsotakis was asked to comment on women’s participation in the labor market, after EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen talked about training schemes for workers and the unemployed.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, first of all let me just add to what Ursula just said. We are proponents of the social market economy, which means that we recognize the need to provide support for those people who are without a job. But we are also keenly aware that if the support mechanism is at some point too generous, then it distorts the real incentives to actually find a job in the first place. So we need to get that balance right.
And we need to be able to offer our unemployed real opportunities and real job offers, through a careful system of matching the demands of the labor market, coupled with re-skilling, to tackle the real needs of the market and the unemployed.
When it comes to incentives, I fundamentally believe that people want to work. This is not just about the money, it’s about this concept of dignity of work that we should not forget and which I think has also been highlighted during the pandemic. I think we also need to do something at the level of the EPP to recognize all those jobs, which were almost invisible and whose importance we suddenly realized during the pandemic. The first job that comes to mind is all the young people who are on a scooter and deliver food to our homes. And recognize that these jobs, which may not have received the necessary importance from us, are actually absolutely critical, especially in times of crisis.
Now, the question of women’s participation in the labor force is absolutely critical because we still have a low level of participation of women in Greece. It is about making sure that we literally shatter any concept of discrimination when it comes to pay. It is, at the same time, also cultural, where more people need to be encouraged to participate in the workforce.
It is also a very real issue when it comes to making sure that we need to help especially women balance obligations such as making sure that you can raise your children while at the same time having a job. So, we’ve placed a lot of emphasis on making sure that we support nursery and primary care programs, expand their working hours, to make it easier for women to balance the complicated obligations of having especially young children and holding a job at the same time.
So, it is an important agenda for us. We will be proposing a very bold and broad agenda regarding women’s participation in the workforce. And we do also hope that we will be able to tackle some of the cultural stereotypes that, to a certain extent, still exist in our country but probably belong to the previous century and not the 21st century.
Towards the end of the discussion, the Prime Minister was asked about the green transition and Greece’s relevant policies for the creation of jobs.
Esther de Lange: The question is about the green deal. You talked about your power plants in one region of Greece that you are going to close down. How do you, on a national level, actually make sure that the new jobs you are creating, you talked about them, are staying in Greece? I’m sure it’s a challenge for all of us. It’s a discussion we are having in the Netherlands and you must have in Greece. How do you deal with that?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: First of all, we also intend to bring some jobs into Greece from abroad. And that is why we try to make Greece competitive when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment. We know that we need to be offering a competitive landscape when it comes to regulation and taxes and at the same time also make sure that we leverage our comparative advantages.
When it comes to creating and retaining jobs locally one should be aware that not all jobs, obviously, are going to be replaced by robots and algorithms. Especially if you look, for example, at your service industry, which is so important for countries such as Greece, quite dependent on tourism. We need to be aware that these can be well-paying jobs that can be sustained and can be improved through technology, but not necessarily replaced through technology.
So, at the end of the day, for those jobs that will be really lost through the green transition, Esther, one really needs to do very detailed work at the local level to really think hard in what context these jobs can actually be replaced by other jobs. And this will mean, obviously, that people will need to be trained to do different things. It also requires a willingness by people to engage in that thought process and take the initiative. You may have people who are in their middle age and it’s not always easy to convince them that this is something doable. That is where government support is probably the most necessary.
So, you have to do a very, very detailed job, but the RRF provides us with the basic framework and the financing tools in order to be able to do that.
And I would very much encourage Ursula -she knows our views- to make sure that the plans are approved as quickly as possible, so that the money can actually be channeled into our economies as quickly as possible.
If things go according to plan we’ll be receiving 4 billion in 2021. It is absolutely instrumental that there are no delays, because if there are delays, then the risk that jobs may be lost as we move out of that pandemic is going to increase significantly.
