Sustained High Primary Surplus Targets the 'Downside' of the Eurogroup's Decision, Mitsotakis Says

The challenge for the next Greek government will be to convince the country's creditors to give it greater fiscal "breathing space", main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday. He identified the high primary surplus targets after 2018 as the "downside" of the Eurogroup's decision on Monday.

"The great problem of the Eurogroup's decision...is that it leaves the Greek government 'trapped' within an excessively tight fiscal framework, with medium-term primary surplus targets of 3.5 pct of GDP that go far beyond 2018," he said, speaking to business people at the Metamorfosi town hall.

According to ND's leader, Greece had failed to persuade its European partners that it was serious about implementing structural reforms, without qualifications or provisos, in order to ask for more fiscal space that would enable "more daring things in taxation."

Mitsotakis insisted that he would move in the direction of lower taxation, however, coupled with greater tax compliance.

 

 

ANA-MPA