FinMin: ‘Window of opportunity’

Government vice president and finance minister Evangelos Venizelos on Thursday described the situation arising following last week’s eurozone summit decisions on Greece as a “window of opportunity”, adding that the most important factor now was “our own efficiency and stability in implementing the decisions but also a climate of consensus at home”.
Briefing parliament’s standing committee on economics, Venizelos said that this week, for the first time, deposits have “returned” to the Greek banks, and reiterated his call on Greek
depositors and investors to deposit their money in Greek banks, either by repatriating them from banks abroad or by ‘taking the money out from under the mattress’, and giving reassurances that the Greek banking system is the safest in the EU.
During a discussion of his ministry’s omnibus bill in the committee, Venizelos took the opportunity to brief the MPs sitting on the committee on the results of the eurozone summit in detail, noting that “we reached a decision that radically changes the status quo, is bold, generous and groundbreaking”.
A new picture has arisen after the summit, he said. “There is momentum, a window of opportunity. If we take the decisions that must be taken, if we remain steadfast, we will emerge from the tunnel,” Venizelos added.
“This week, for the first time, we had a return of deposits to the Greek banks, which means that the market is reacting positively, and the Greek citizens as well,” he said.