Christos Staikouras

Economist Michalis Masourakis to take over as Greece's IMF representative

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras has appointed Michalis Masourakis as Greece's new representative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to a ministry statement on Tuesday.
On September 1 Masourakis will succeed Michalis Psalidopoulos who leaves its post after five years and whom the government and the ministry thanked for his contribution and cooperation.

Labor subsidy program gets further boost

The ministers of finance and labor submitted an amendment Wednesday which provides that the state will not only cover 60 percent of the salary lost by workers whose working hours were reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also 60 percent of employers' insurance contributions for employees who have been included in the labor subsidy program.

Moderate contraction of 0.9% in Q1

The coronavirus measures that were introduced in late February and led to a lockdown in the second half of March were enough to turn the gross domestic product data for the entire first quarter of 2020 negative - albeit at a significantly slower rate than in the rest of the eurozone - according to data issued on Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

Greece does not need to tap ESM credit line, says FinMin

Greece has no need to tap the eurozone's pandemic credit line at present, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Friday.

"Based on current data, Greece does not need to resort to the ESM's (European Stability Mechanism) credit lines since the government has made and continues to make prudent use of the country's own resources," he told an Economist conference.

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