In the important steps of progress and gradual convergence the country has achieved in recent years, he referred to his speech in the open event of his annual general meeting Seb The President of the Association, Spyros Theodoropoulos. As he noted, the Greece It has achieved steady growth at a rate higher than the EU average, has conquered the investment level, has reduced tax evasion and has drastically reduced unemployment. At the same time, salaries have increased and tax rates for low and medium incomes have declined.
“Greece has succeeded in operating as a normal country, a country that lives in accordance with its potential and does not burden future generations.”, Mr. Theodoropoulos emphasized BSE.
However, Mr Theodoropoulos pointed out that there are still critical lags compared to the rest of Europe, such as the deficit in the balance of goods, the high and variable energy costs, the polynomial, the bureaucracy and the slow administration of justice.
Energy costs and competitiveness
He made a special reference to the energy costs, which described as a decisive factor in the competitiveness of the Greek economy. As he pointed out, “Greece is still among the countries with the highest energy costs in the EU”which erodes the competitiveness of all sectors horizontally and negatively affects inflation.
For industry, and especially for energy -intensive sectors, “access to competitive and predictable energy is a condition of survival”. He also expressed the hope that the dialogue already underway between the state and the BSE would soon lead to positive results to support domestic production.
The BSE president was particularly at the contribution of businesses – and especially industry – to the good run of the Greek economy. Total exports of goods amounted to 50 billion euros in 2024equaling for another year the revenue from tourism and other exported services.
The industry, a second largest employer in the country after trade, offers salaries by 35% higher than the average economy. At the same time, branches such as food, medicines, minerals, chemicals and shipping equipment are constantly expanding their presence in international markets. The innovation ecosystem, with 3,000 startups and a total of $ 8-12 billion in 2024, is growing rapidly.
The central axis of speech was the issue of low productivity. Greece is currently at 54% of EU average (with industry at 75%), with no real progress in the last 30 years. Mr. Theodoropoulos stood in the “big misunderstanding” that prevailing productivity means More hours of work or intensification.
“Productivity is the creation of value added and is a matter of organization, technology, investment, institutional simplification, speed of justice, quality of education and training, infrastructure functionality and stability of rules”, Mr. Theodoropoulos explained.
He also stressed that “The main responsible for increased productivity are not workers, but the state and businesses”and called everyone “To set a common goal of increasing productivity in every aspect and activity of the public and private sectors, with annual milestones, measurable indicators and regular accountability.”.
Investments, Human Resources and Artificial Intelligence
The BSE president called on state and businesses to make a production of productive investment that would mean corresponding jumping of extroversion, technology and productive reconstitution. He reinstated his proposal for the institutionalization of overcrowding as a horizontal investment incentive.
As a critical priority, human resources have set the need for mass investment in technical and vocational education, training and re -establishment, the adoption of business intelligence by businesses and enhancing the inclusion in the labor market.
From ‘normal’ to productive Greece
In closing, the K. Theodoropoulos addressed a call for cooperation ‘To move on from the individual effort to the collective’ and to succeed in the transition of Greece ‘From a’ normal ‘country to a productive country’.
Called the state ‘To make productivity a basic criterion of all policies’ and businesses “to intensify their investment effort, digitization, extroversion and investment in people.”
End, assured society that «Improving productivity is the way for better jobs, higher wages, better social benefits and not a Trojan horse for the intensification of work ».