The need for Europe to remain vigilant against immediate economic pressures, while at the same time accelerating the implementation of the necessary reforms, was underlined by the Minister of National Economy and Finance and president of the Eurogroup Kyriakos Pierrakakis, arriving at the Eurogroup meeting in Dublin.
At the center of the Eurogroup discussions are the recent economic developments, with pressures on the energy markets and prices creating additional challenges for households and businesses, as well as the strengthening of European productivity.
As Mr. Pierrakakis noted, two years after the publication of the Draghi report, Europe is called upon to move from diagnosis to implementation, addressing the productivity gap with the United States.
He described resilience as a key characteristic of European economies, noting, however, that it is not sufficient on its own as a growth strategy. At the same time, he spoke in favor of the faster advancement of the reforms required for the full utilization of the potential of the European economy.
The full statement by the Minister of National Economy and Finance and president of the Eurogroup follows:
«Good morning.
It is a great pleasure to be in Dublin today for the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings, in the homeland of my predecessor, Paschal Donohoe, whose contribution to the Eurogroup has been particularly significant. And I would like to begin by paying special tribute to this contribution.
Today we have two items on the Eurogroup agenda.
The first is to assess the recent economic developments. We are seeing pressures in the energy markets, as well as in prices. We will discuss the impact of these pressures on our economies, our households and our businesses, the measures we are taking to mitigate this impact, as well as how we can further coordinate our actions.
The second item on the agenda is productivity. We are two years after the publication of the Draghi report and, to a significant extent, we still need to move from diagnosis to implementation. There is a productivity gap between Europe and the United States.
We must close this gap, so that Europe can fully realize its potential. And it is precisely in this context that we invited today the Secretary-General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, to participate in the Eurogroup, in order to discuss the OECD's proposals for Europe aimed at improving its productivity performance.
Overall, if you asked me to describe in one word Europe's economic performance over the past months and years, the word I would use is resilience.
And it goes without saying that resilience is of existential importance. After all, I come from a country that was forced to learn this the hard way. I would add, however, that resilience does not in itself constitute a growth strategy.
It is a necessary condition for Europe to fully realize its economic potential, but it is not a sufficient condition.
Therefore, our message here today is twofold: vigilance against immediate risks and threats, and speed in implementing all the reforms that Europe so urgently needs to implement».