Ministry of Finance

All emergency tax reductions and the permanent tax breaks ratified before the onset of the pandemic will apply in 2021, with the cheap state loans program also running into next year, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras assured on Saturday.

The Eurogroup acknowledged on Thursday the positive course of the Greek economy before the pandemic and the government's rapid reaction to the spread of the coronavirus, and gave the nod for measures benefiting Athens to the tune of 748 million euros.

Greece raised 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) Tuesday in its third bond issue of the year, managing to wrap up most of its annual borrowing needs before the end of the first half.

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).

In a bid to bolster growth and cover the ground lost this year as soon as possible, the government is considering a second reduction to the corporate income tax deposit in 2021, as a bonus spurring enterprises to carry out investments next year.

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.

Greece is likely to tap bond markets in the coming months, for the third time this year, to help support its economy which has been hurt by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Thursday.

The government is seeking to ride the new momentum created by the health crisis in Europe, at the expense of the once unique recipe of austerity, while the first-quarter fiscal data compiled by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) indicated an annual deterioration of 1.3 billion euros.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras suggested on Thursday that the funds Greece expects to receive from the Next Generation EU recovery package as proposed by the European Commission on Wednesday could allow for a reduction in taxation.

Greece will submit a list of how it plans to use resources from the EU's coronavirus Recovery Fund to the European Commission in October, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Thursday.