Kyriakos Pierrakakis described housing as both an economic issue and a matter of social cohesion, emphasizing the need for coordination of policies among EU member states and drawing lessons from each country. "We must learn from one another about what worked and what didn't," he stated.
Arriving at the informal Meeting of the Council of Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN), the President of the Eurogroup and Greek Minister of Finance stated that today's meeting of Eurozone Ministers of Finance will focus on the updated economic forecasts for the European economy, in which, he said, there are no significant surprises.
"We are in an environment of positive growth. Despite stagflationary pressures, Europe is demonstrating resilience, as proven in recent crises (2022). We must balance supporting citizens and society on the one hand, and addressing the energy crisis on the other, so that it does not become a fiscal crisis," he notably emphasized.
On the other hand, he warned that if the Strait of Hormuz does not open soon, then June will be worse than May, July worse than June, and August even worse.
Referring to an IMF report, he noted that measures applied for energy policy since 2022 reduce the economic impact by 12%. "What we need to implement are measures that align with long-term energy policies," he stressed.
He acknowledged, however, that although Europe is in a worse fiscal position compared to the 2022 energy crisis, he emphasized that this time there is experience in management.
He also paid compliments to Cyprus, pointing out that it is a country that has proven it can turn crises into opportunities and upgrade its geopolitical and economic role.
Regarding the European economy, he stated that it has already begun to address the crisis. The Commission's forecasts, he said, show growth trending downward and inflation trending upward.
