Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis highlighted three priorities for improving the productivity of the Greek economy while speaking yesterday at a discussion titled: “Investment and Development in the New Geopolitical Environment: The Role of Tourism and Crete’s Contribution to the Resilience of the Greek Economy,” organized by Eurobank in Heraklion, Crete.
“First and foremost, we must pay attention to artificial intelligence,” he said. “It is a key tool for accelerating economic growth and is closely linked to how quickly we will move forward. A second factor is research and technology. Crete is the ideal place for the development of research and technology, in collaboration with businesses. It has three universities, which can create tech startups on their own or in collaboration with private companies. In Crete, we have pioneered community-based enterprises in shipping, tourism, and greenhouse farming. The research and technology sector lies ahead of us and represents a major opportunity that we must seize. And a third factor is business mergers. We cannot force them. We have provided incentives for mergers twice, but they haven’t worked very well. But in this era of globalization and new technologies, we must understand that if we want to succeed in the productivity challenge, we must also consider the issue of voluntary business mergers.”
When asked about funding for the next programming period, Kostis Hatzidakis dismissed as a myth the notion that there will be a fiscal cliff. “Greece,” he emphasized, “has 57.5 billion euros for the current programming period, including the Recovery Fund. Based on the European Commission’s proposal, it will have 49.5 billion euros. In any case, we are not far off, and negotiations will certainly follow. And these figures do not include the funds from the new Competitiveness Fund, which will focus on research, technology, and their connection to businesses. That fund is projected to have 430 billion euros. Based on population criteria, Greece could receive an additional 8 to 10 billion. So we’re back to where we were before, with the difference that there are no national quotas in this Fund. That’s why we need to start now—the government, social partners, universities, and research centers—to take action. It would be tragic if we were able to secure 10 billion and yet failed to move in this direction, remaining stuck in the mindset of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.”
Referring to issues concerning Crete, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that the island is currently hosting the largest projects of the past decades. “I am proud to be associated with one of them, the undersea electrical interconnection between Crete and Attica. A project that has both an economic and environmental impact and was a long-standing demand of all Cretans. It is, of course, the Northern Road Axis of Crete, and it is also the airport in Kastelli. Once completed in 2028, it will be the most modern airport in Europe. There are other things that need to be done. I would generally choose environmental protection because the environment is Crete’s greatest asset.”
Regarding the Special Spatial Framework for Tourism, he noted that there has been extensive consultation and criticism from both sides—from hoteliers and environmental organizations alike. “We, as a government, are obviously in favor of entrepreneurship. The question is how the growth that entrepreneurship brings will be sustainable. We cannot proceed with a Balkan or Middle Eastern mindset—one that is ultimately short-sighted—which devalues property and hinders development.”
Finally, in response to a question about political developments and the creation of new parties, he emphasized: “We have a democracy; everyone presents their proposal and is judged by the citizens. One party is based on protest and anger. These are characteristics that, when it comes down to it, do not address the problem of governing the country. The other is a revival of an already existing party that has officially decided to declare the end of its operations.
We must continue with humility, practicing self-criticism where necessary, doing what is right, correcting mistakes, with the seriousness and effectiveness that are the key. To address the challenges at the national and regional levels. This becomes even more imperative when one sees how much the world is changing. Instability, globalization, new technologies, artificial intelligence, migration flows. A series of very major challenges that cannot be addressed with coffee-shop logic, anger, curses, and insults, nor with demagoguery and exaggerations.”