Hatzidakis

The government is preparing interventions in the housing credit sector for this fall, with National Economy & Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis vowing that the government will continue to support vulnerable households. 

The "big fish," however, he said, "are not vulnerable households but those who pretend to be poor." 

The National Economy and Finance Ministry's bill which includes a variety of the government's economic policy staples was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, said Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

Titled "Boosting the Income of Wage Earners, Youth, Family, and Labor - Pension Regulations," it "fulfills 50% of the government's economic program commitments," he noted.

Greece will remain on the road to fiscal stability and "will implement, with determination, the reforms needed to be completed," Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said on Friday.

The initiatives that Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis will immediately undertake for the financial sector are moving along four main axes.

The government strategy after Greece secures investment grade and opens up to a larger number of investors is to make use of part of the high amount of cash available in a productive way and toward the reduction of the public debt.

The new Finance Minister, Kostis Hatzidakis, and the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, had a first meeting Tuesday to discuss policy, focusing on fiscal policy, banks and private debt.

The two officials met for about 90 minutes and then told reporters they had a "shared understanding" about the state of the economy, as well as a shred optimism about its prospects.

Dealing with tax evasion has entered the vocabulary of the government's economic policy, at least at the level of statements of intent, after the related discussions during the pre-election period. New Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis highlighted it on Tuesday, during the ministry's handover ceremony, saying it is a form of social injustice that must be addressed.

The Public Employment Agency (DYPA)'s Spiti Mou (My Home) program is set to launch on Monday with the participation of all systemic banks. The program foresees 5,000 loans being taken out by young people and couples aged 25 to 39, with the interest rate limited to a quarter of the normal market rate. If a couple has three or more children, the interest rate will be zero.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the new increase in the minimum wage, which will become 780 euros from April 1, ANA-MPA agency reported.

The measure of supporting pensioners who did not receive a raise is now being considered by the Ministry of Finance, after the announcement of a such an intervention last Friday by Labor Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.