"The Greek economy is growing and indeed at a rate higher than the European average," said the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni.
Awaiting the announcement of the Commission's autumn forecasts for the course of the European economy, on Friday, the Commissioner does not rule out the possibility that 2023 will be more difficult than 2022 as a contraction or very little growth may be recorded.
Speaking to ERT, he reveals that the European Commission is likely to present its proposals for changes to the Stability and Growth Pact on Wednesday.
Referring to this specific issue, Gentiloni notes that there should be a more realistic approach to debt reduction as "we should simultaneously increase the space for investments, in public spending and have a simpler and timeless system of fiscal rules."
"Therefore, it is not only to make it more gradual but to improve public spending with more investments and to have a simpler and timeless mechanism. Otherwise, the rules are there to avoid applying something that is negative for the European Union.
"Especially for the Greek economy, the European commissioner does not fail to emphasise that although the risks are now common to all member states, in Greece the debt is high and it has not yet recovered the investment grade.
"However, the fact that the Greek economy is growing at a rate higher than the European average does not go unnoticed, as well as the fact that the Government has proposed a policy aimed at ensuring fiscal stability."
Regarding the Recovery Fund, according to Gentiloni, at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2023, the third request of Athens for the disbursement of funds is expected to be submitted.
“The third request in particular will have a large number of targets and milestones to achieve. I am sure that the Greek government is determined to achieve these goals as they are very demanding," he said.
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