Euclid Tsakalotos

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras indicated on Friday the European elections on May 26 will be a "vote of confidence" in the economic plan and tax breaks presented by the government for 2019 and 2020, noting that "everything is open" if his party suffers defeat in the ballot.

Just three days before crucial European Parliament and local elections, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos offered an accounting of the successes and defeats of the government during his nearly four years as minister even as he expressed concerns about the problems and future of the eurozone.

The measures that the government announced two weeks ago are weighing on the economy's growth weight and are seen leading to a smaller primary budget surplus in 2019 and 2020, according to the latest forecasts by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The SYRIZA government and a package of relief measures and tax breaks it announced earlier this month will be judged by voters at this Sunday's European Parliament and local elections, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Monday dismissed officials who have expressed concern over the government's handout policy ahead of the elections - including the head of the European Stability Mechanism, Klaus Regling - as "austerity supporters," although concerns are also being raised by others much closer to home, at the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

A package of benefits announced in recent weeks are part of a broader plan and signal that Greece is turning a page following its exit from international bailouts last year, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos has told the Athens-Macedonia news agency, adding that criticism of the handouts by some foreign officials has been "severe." 

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos chose to skip last week's Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, where serious criticism was expressed against Greek government decisions. The minister's explanation for staying in Athens was that Greece would not be on the agenda of the eurozone finance ministers' talks, which he knew was not the case.

Handouts announced by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ahead of municipal and European Parliament elections next week appear to have raised concerns among European Union governments over whether Greece will be able to honor its pledges to creditors even as Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos indicated that more relief measures are in the works. 

"Relief measures" announced by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ahead of municipal and European Parliament elections appear to have raised concerns among EU governments over the country's efforts to meet its pledges to lenders.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said on Tuesday that the government is pondering the reintroduction of a "solidarity benefit" for low-income pensioners in a "more targeted form," along with other measures including making it harder for the state to seize the deposits of indebted businesses.