EBEA proposes 12-measure package on economy

Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEA) president Constantine Michalos on Friday unveiled a package of 12 measures the chamber proposes for bringing the country out of recession and the crisis instead of the measures contained in the new state budget tabled in parliament the previous day, which he warned are inapplicable and ineffective.

“The EBEA considers that the new budget will deepen the recession in the market and cause a new shrinking of GDP and a substantial rise in unemployment,” a chamber text said, adding that “it is at the same time doubtful whether the budget will achieve the projected increase in revenues and reduction in expenditure, without social reactions or, even worse, collateral losses.”

It said that the business world calls on the government to put a halt to this dead-end course which leads to recession, and proposes instead 12 practical and immediately-applicable measures that could lead the economy out of the crisis.

The recommendations include full privatisation of state organisations and enterprises without fearing the political cost; exploitation of the state’s real estate property; deregulation of the closed-shop markets and professions; recognition of foreign universities and liberalisation of higher education; activation of the law on public-private sector collaborations; simplification of the licencing procedure for new businesses and activation of the new of the new General Register of Companies (GEMI); announcement of a Spatial Plan and a binding timetable for completion of the National Land Registry; Activation of the Competition Commission; re-evaluation of all research and technology development actions; acceleration of the absorption of National Strategic Reference Framework (ESPA) funds and support of SMEs via the new entrepreneurship fund; amendment of labor legislation for greater flexibility in the job market, and reduction of employers’ contributions (to employees’ social security funds); and stamping out bureaucracy and streamlining — not de-regulation and annihilation — of the core public sector.

According to the EBEA text, the government has, unfortuna-tely, limited itself to a barren policy mix the sole components of which are tax increases, salary reductions and cutbacks in the public investments program, instead of accelerating the necessary structural changes and giving a new boost to the Greek economy.

EBEA “sounds the warning bell” regarding the impasse to which the Greek economy was headed, the text said, and warns that “if the government does not proceed immediately to deep-rooted changes and reforms that give hope and a prospect to the country, we will soon find ourselves face-to-face with that impasse”