VIEWS AMONG GREEK bankers about the prospects for
the Greek economy are mixed. Yiannis Papathanassiou, a
conservative New Democracy party parliament deputy and former
chairman of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, is particularly
pessimistic. He reckons that if the situation is allowed to
drift Greece will experience a significant economic slowdown
and serious fiscal problems after 2004 should it fail to push
ahead with much-needed structural reforms.
Papathanassiou, who is widely expected to hold a key economic
ministry in a conservative administration, says Greece cannot count
on EU transfers alone if it is to grow and warns of more losses in
international competitiveness and higher unemployment if policy
inertia takes hold.
"EU inflows and investment spending linked to the 2004 Olympics
account for the largest part of GDP growth in the last few years,"
Papathanassiou says. "I fully share the concerns about economic
growth and public finances after 2004 because past EU transfers
have...
