German FinMin optimistic about Greek competitiveness
Germany?s finance minister has expressed optimism about debt-choked Greece?s prospects of increasing its stalled competitiveness.
In an interview with Spiegel magazine, Wolfgang Schauble said privatizations, sanctioned by a recently-approved package of austerity measures, would help spark economic growth in the country.
?One only has to look at the state’s share in the Greek economy, which is almost as high as in a country with a communist past,? Schauble said in referrence to the country’s dysfunctional public sector.
If Greece now starts to sell state-owned companies, then this will not only pump money in the hands of the state but it will also open up considerable opportunities for growth,? he added.
Greek lawmakers last week approved a new raft of deeply unpopular austerity measures including tax increases, reductions to state spending and a plan to privatize 50 billion euros in state assets.
