Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis participated today in a conversation with the Vice Chairman of BlackRock Philipp Hildebrand and the Chairman and CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners Adebayo Ogunlesi, in the context of the Athens International Investors Summit, organized by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund and BlackRock.
The Prime Minister had the opportunity to address influential investors with extensive portfolios on the impressive growth momentum of the Greek economy, the country’s prospects, investment opportunities, and the challenges that arise in a number of sectors, such as defense and energy.
During the forum, the establishment of the Hellenic Innovation & Infrastructure Fund, which is the investment arm of the Superfund, was announced.
“We have been growing much faster than the Eurozone average, while at the same time, moderately reducing taxes, focusing on private investment, fostering entrepreneurship, and improving the business environment. We’ve been able to do all that in the context of a political environment which projects political stability”, the Prime Minister noted in his remarks. “We’ve been able to do all that in the context of a political environment which projects political stability. We have a government that has an absolute majority. We were rewarded with a second mandate back in 2023. This distinguishes us, I think, from many other European countries, because coalition politics can be very complicated”, he added.
“I think the big challenge, politically, is to make the connection between the macroeconomic story and the reality of living and working in an environment where the cost of living has become a big issue”, the Prime Minister underlined.
“I do think there is a general understanding that this turnaround is here to stay. My job is to ensure that the changes that we have put in place are irreversible. This is my commitment to the investor community, and frankly, also the one main reason why I want to run for a third term. To ensure that what we have succeeded is going to continue and to ensure that the wealth that we create for the country, in terms of wages, will be maintained. My number one commitment in 2022 was to raise wages. When I see unemployment going down from 18 to 8%, this means that real wages are also rising because the labour market is tightening. Of course, at some point also, wages have to increase. That’s the only way to actually spread the wealth”, he added.
Referring to the importance of a credible and costed fiscal policy, the Prime Minister pointed out: “The fundamental premise of our approach has always been not to question the desire to achieve fiscal and macroeconomic stability. The crisis of 2009 – 2010 was the result of us losing track of our spending and not focusing on the fundamentals of how to completely restructure the fabric of the economy. We’re never going to make the same mistake again. That is why our commitment to producing not just primary surpluses, but also, whenever possible, actual surpluses is not going to be challenged”.
In this context, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that the benefits of combating tax evasion are returned to citizens through systematic tax cuts, with an emphasis on middle incomes, young people, and families with children.
“The biggest reform that added to the budget of the state was our ability to address a problem of tax evasion. This brought in a lot of money, which we now have to return to people. So we cut taxes for the middle class. We cut taxes for families with kids. We say zero income tax if you’re under 25. I want to encourage young kids to join the labor force. I don’t want them to spend ages and ages. I respect, we’re all well-educated, but I also respect the young kid that goes to a technical school and enters the job market at the age of 20. I want him or her to know that we’re thinking about them”, he said.
During the discussion on the future of European defense, given the current geopolitical landscape, the Prime Minister stated: “We will need to mobilise not just private, but also public money. We will need to mobilise European public money for defence. I’ve been very clear on this topic. I’ve been speaking a lot about it. And the recent incursion of Russian drones into the Polish airspace brought to the forefront what we already know is a big problem, and that has to do with our missile and air defence systems in Europe. So my suggestion is very clear: a pan-European instrument for what I consider to be a pan-European good. And Defence is the paramount public European good.
We cannot afford to let our national priorities interfere with what is essentially an existential threat for Europe. Could this happen? The answer is, I see much more momentum. Some of the traditional ‘frugal’ countries, such as Denmark and Finland, are much more open to the idea of joint European borrowing for defence”.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis also addressed, among other things, the issue of green transition and energy. “Greece has been extremely successful in adding renewables, both solar and wind to our energy mix. We produce more than 50% of our electricity from renewables. We can go for hours during days, especially in the spring, or in the fall, where all our electricity is produced by renewables. For the first time this summer, we also saw a greater convergence of prices between Western and Central Europe and Southeastern Europe”, the Prime Minister underlined.
“We need more interconnections. We have become a net exporter of electricity. This has never happened before. But of course, we will also need additional investments in base load, which in the case of Greece is natural gas, and of course, investments in storage. This is our plan in terms of how we plan to navigate the green transition with realism, but also understanding that for us, renewables are a significant comparative advantage”, he added.
