ECONOMY

Costello: Challengesremain for Greece

Costello: Challengesremain for Greece

Greece is sending out a signal that the country has returned to normality, although several challenges remain, the head of the European Commission’s mission to Greece, Declan Costello, said on Wednesday.

“A continuation and completion of reforms was necessary. To stop this back and forth which, in my opinion, was the cause that kept the crisis going for eight years in Greece,” Costello stated.

The remarks were made during a conference organized by the European Commission with the Athens-based Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) on priorities for sustainable growth and competitiveness.

The size of the state debt load and the burden of nonperforming loans are two of the challenges that still need to be tackled to give the banking sector breathing space to finance the real economy again in order to boost growth and competitiveness, he said.

Referring to the opportunities offered by Greece in the post-crisis period that will support the economy’s recovery, Costello focused on the fields of transport and energy.

[Xinhua]

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