Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras outlined on Thursday evening (16.6) his government’s 2016-2021 plan for fair economic growth and sustainable job creation, pledging a brighter future for the suffering Greek people after six years of harsh austerity introduced to overcome the debt crisis.
Speaking at a special event at the Acropolis Museum commemorating its 7th year anniversary, the Greek PM unveiled his government’s strategic plan for equitable growth, “Greece 2021: Fair growth, productive reconstruction”, aiming at growth boosting policies to put an end to the vicious circle of recession and unemployment and at redistributing burdens and wealth.
In a bid to differentiate with what he claimed was previous governments’ “neo-liberal” interpretation of growth and economic development that “left ruins behind”, Tsipras gave a description of his government’s view on growth: reintegrate the economy in the global division of labor; create an economy based on production specialization; restore the welfare state; and create a wide array of productive activities, cooperative social economy schemes and entrepreneurship that aims at the creation of viable and decently paid jobs.”
Outlining the main pillars of the strategy for “productive reconstruction”, Tsipras referred to the restart of major infrastructure projects across Greece and to a series of financing tools available from now in particular to small- and medium- sized enterprises as part of efforts to attract more investments and create “viable and decent” job positions.
A key tool in this growth process according to the Greek PM is the new development law, approved yesterday (16.6) at the parliament, which foresees total investments of 13 billion euros by 2021, a significant drop to the current unemployment rates which stand at around 24 percent of the working force, taxation incentives for investors, the reduction of red tape etc. The law “reflects the entire philosophy of our growth planning and aims at the creation of innovative, extrovert, dynamic enterprises, the support of employment with emphasis on specialized human resources, as well as the increase of added value,” he stressed.
