Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, has identified a problem with competition, which is responsible for the high prices.

Ιnterviewed by newspaper Proto Thema, Mr. Stournaras said: "High concentration leads to high prices. That is why we see relatively higher prices in Greece than in the Eurozone for many goods and services. This is also evident from the recent Eurostat finding that while GDP per capita in Greece is at 67% of the EU average, its price level is at 88.2% of the corresponding average. In other words, we are more expensive than other countries in relation to our income. That is why high prices in Greece creates a serious problem for many households. Of course, this is not a recent problem, but comes from the past. This is why he argues that, under certain conditions, it is possible to reduce the VAT rate to 24%, which is one of the highest in the eurozone.

However, as he argued, the priority is not to reduce VAT, but to reduce social security contributions at work.