Despite the progress of the Greek economy and industry, eight long-standing problems remain unresolved, preventing investment, said SEV President Spyros Theodoropoulos during his speech at the open event of the General Assembly of the Association of Enterprises and Industries.
The problems that need immediate solution are spatial planning, the speed of justice, the unfair taxation of middle managers, bureaucracy, polygamy, inadequate interconnection between education and the labour market, infrastructure deficiencies, the high cost of electricity compared to our competitors, the shortage of workers and insufficient access to bank financing for SMEs.
"High electricity costs reduce competitiveness and fuel inflation, while large fluctuations hinder predictability and make it difficult for businesses to enter into agreements with their customers, even of a few months' duration.
Businesses need to be shielded, not just the energy-intensive ones but also those in the medium voltage range. Measures are needed, immediately and effectively, as other European countries have done, since, as we all understand, structural interventions take time to produce results," Theodoropoulos said.
He added that a new problem, which we did not face before, is the fact that companies cannot find the workers they need. In addition, it has remained after the crisis and has even intensified the problem of insufficient access to bank financing for SMEs.
Despite the progress achieved, the Greek economy continues to face two critical challenges: improving the current account balance and increasing productivity.
According to the President of SEV, the only answer to both of these problems is a rapid increase in productive investment. He added that Greece needs to make an immediate investment leap that will last beyond the Recovery Fund.
He said that in order to achieve this major goal, all businesses must become active in terms of investment. It is necessary to create an investment tool that will work regardless of the size of the company, sector, and region, either for expansion—modernization of existing activity—or for the creation of a new one. It will emphasise the priority use of companies' own resources through tax rewards rather than subsidies. On labour issues, Mr. Theodoropoulos stressed that the labour relations of the past cannot provide solutions to the modern needs of workers and businesses. He added that the key to increasing productivity is to ensure a flexible framework for the operation of businesses while respecting labour rights.
