“The relationship between Greece and France is special. It is special at the political level. As you know, I signed with President Macron a strategic partnership agreement last year in Paris, which is particularly important for the geopolitical presence of France in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is a very personal and close relationship I have with President Macron. He’s the most popular foreign leader in Greece, and I would say France is probably the most popular country of all in Greece, which is something that I think you do need to take into consideration when you are contemplating either expanding or establishing a more robust presence in Greece,” pointed out the Prime Minister at the meeting he had today in Maximos Mansion with the french delegation from the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), which is France’s largest association of businesses and industries.
“The message that was communicated to you, that Greece is back, is the truth. It is a spirit I think you pick up simply by moving around the country,” added Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The French businessmen said that they were “impressed with the wind of change” in Greece, stressing that the interest in investments is back due to the hard work of the Greek government.
“If you look at the number of foreign companies, not just French companies, that are investing in Greece, it is indeed remarkable how quickly this change was achieved. And what is also interesting is that foreign companies don’t just invest in sectors where Greece had a traditional comparative advantage, such as tourism and maybe renewable energy. They’re also looking at high-tech, at logistics, at education, at healthcare sectors, which really value the fact that this country has a very high quality human capital,” pointed out the Prime Minister, highlighting the prospects of the Greek economy and the existing programme of reforms that makes the country a competitive investment destination.
The Prime Minister referred to the problem of the energy costs and reiterated that a solution must be sought at European level. “We have just introduced a very aggressive and substantial package to reduce electricity bills in the country and to break the link between the prices of natural gas and electricity, which have really driven household electricity bills up to a point which is simply not sustainable. But of course, I’m also looking to Europe to coordinate our actions and to understand that this is a European challenge that needs a European response. We did it last year with the RRF and the next generation EU package. I think we need to do it again when it comes to energy”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The representatives of the French businesses expressed their interest in the new prospects created and expressed their trust on the long-term stability, sustainability and the prospect of growth and development of the Greek economy.
Representatives of some of the largest French companies, headed by the President of the MEDEF Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, participated in the delegation. Among them high-ranked MEDEF executives, L’ Oreal President Jean-Paul Agon, as well as executives from Airbus, Bollore, Bouygues Batiment International, Egis, Fives, Galileo Global, Idemia, Iveco France, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group, Naval Group, Ratp Development, Safran, Saur International, Sulo, Thales και Vinci Concessions.
The Hellenic Federation of Entreprises (SEV) was represented by the Director General at SEV George Xirogiannis and the President of the Executive Commitee Efthimios Vidalis. Chief Economic Advisor to the Greek government, Alex Patelis also attended the meeting.
The Prime Minister’s introductory statement follows:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Thank you very much for being here. Thank you for your kind words, and I’m happy that you have had a productive visit so far. Indeed, the message that was communicated to you, that Greece is back, is the truth. It is evident in the overall performance of the macro indicators, but it is also a spirit I think you pick up simply by moving around the country, speaking to average people, not just ministers, talking to your business partners.
And I know many of you have been active in Greece for many years, and I would like to thank those companies that stuck with Greece during the very difficult second decade of the 21st century, when we went through our own financial nightmare. French companies remain committed to Greece, and it is something that we very much appreciate.
I should also like to point out that the relationship between Greece and France is special. It is special at the political level. As you know, I signed with President Macron a strategic partnership agreement last year in Paris, which is particularly important for the geopolitical presence of France in the Eastern Mediterranean.
It is a very personal and close relationship I have with President Macron. He’s the most popular foreign leader in Greece, and I would say France is probably the most popular country of all in Greece, which is something that I think you do need to take into consideration when you are contemplating either expanding or establishing a more robust presence in Greece.
We’re now in the midst of profound geopolitical changes, facing major challenges when it comes to the cost of energy and inflation. But this crisis, I think, should not cloud the overall achievements of the country over the past three years. When we took over, we had received from the Greek people a very clear mandate for change. Deliver sustainable growth, improve the disposable income of Greeks, lower taxes, attract investment, and reduce unemployment by creating well-paid new jobs.
And in spite of all the difficulties, we have delivered on that mandate by now. I’m sure you are familiar with the overall performance of the economy, but I would like to highlight in particular the reduction in unemployment, which has been remarkable. And we are now on a downward trend to push unemployment into single-digit numbers. This has been driven by an influx of foreign investment in the country, but also by reactivation of Greek businesses. We always had to overcome the major challenge of bridging a very profound investment gap. If you looked at investments as a percentage of GDP in Greece, it was very low compared to the EU average.
But this is changing. If you look at the number of foreign companies, not just French companies, that are investing in Greece, it is indeed remarkable how quickly this change was achieved. And what is also interesting is that foreign companies don’t just invest in sectors where Greece had a traditional comparative advantage, such as tourism and maybe renewable energy. They’re also looking at high-tech, at logistics, at education, at healthcare sectors, which really value the fact that this country has a very high quality human capital.
So the reason why people invest in Greece today is not just because we have lovely weather and because I think our tourism product is next to none in terms of competitiveness. They don’t just invest here because we have ample wind and solar power. There are also other countries that have similar advantages. But what they find in Greece is a highly trained, skilled labor force. Young Greeks, very eager to work hard to make sure that they can build a better future for themselves and their families. And many of them, as you pointed out, are actually today outside Greece and are eager to return to Greece.
So we also have access to a skilled labor pool of 500,000 maybe young Greeks who left during the years of the crisis, who are for the first time looking to come back. And sometimes the easiest way for them to come back is to work for a large foreign company like yours. It makes the transition much smoother. So overall, we have reasons to be happy with the performance of the economy. But we are also very conscious of the difficulties that we have ahead of us.
We are very concerned with the rising cost of energy. We have just introduced a very aggressive and substantial package to reduce electricity bills in the country and to break the link between the prices of natural gas and electricity, which have really driven household electricity bills up to a point which is simply not sustainable. But of course, I’m also looking to Europe to coordinate our actions and to understand that this is a European challenge that needs a European response. We did it last year with the RRF and the next generation EU package. I think we need to do it again when it comes to energy.
Otherwise, we will give more arguments to the populists in all our societies to attack us and to offer their very simplistic recipe of unsubstantiated solutions to very complicated problems. But at the end of the day, this is about a long-term transformation project for the entire country. I’ve always been very clear that – when we think in terms of the reforms that we need to implement – this is a project that hopefully by 2030 will lead to a completely different Greece. By that time, we should have surpassed most of our EU colleagues and really transform the country, fundamentally transform the way we do business, the way we interact with the state, the way we use digital technology, embrace the green transition. And that is what keeps us very excited.
And I think the team. Very focused and very active. Yes, I think we have a good team in place, and we are all committed to our transformation project. And frankly, we want you all to be a part of our success story and I do want you to also make the case to the smaller companies. I would be very happy to come and join you if my schedule allows it because the big companies, I think, are aware of what’s happening in Greece, but there is a tier of companies under the big multinationals, which have the capacity to invest abroad or would look at Greece or the Balkans. Because Greece is the entry point for the Balkans, for the Middle East, for Northern Africa as a natural base for the expansion of their activities. So please make that case also to your other colleagues and we would be very happy to welcome more French companies to Greece.
Your ambassador is doing an excellent job and always a very big proponent of French business interests – as he should be in the country. But I will conclude with what I said at the beginning. This is a special relationship and there is a degree of affinity between Greece and France, which creates a very positive atmosphere when it comes to French businesses doing investing or doing business in Greece. And of course, some of you have appreciated our country so much that they’ve also learned the language – which we don’t expect all of you to do that. But it’s never too late.
We’re looking at Greece not just as a country where you can spend a lovely summer holiday, but as a country where you can live year round. You can do business from and of course, as I said – as a basis for further expansion in our entire region.
