Greece to boost economy with 6.8-billion euro stimulus

ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday Athens would spend an extra 6.8 billion euros ($8.0 billion) to fight the coronavirus's impact on the country's economy.

A slew of new outlays will include slashing companies' social contributions, creating 100,000 jobs and tax cuts for residents on tourist islands that have suffered from the pandemic's impact on travel, the PM told journalists in the port city Thessaloniki.

Mitsotakis added that he would extend out-of-work benefits for an extra two months, in the country with the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone.

The measures come on top of a 24-billion-euro package decided in spring.

Greek output shrank by 15.2 percent in the second quarter, and Mitsotakis forecast a contraction of "between eight and nine percent of GDP" over the full year before a 2021 rebound.

Greece's central bank predicts GDP down 5.8 percent this year, while the IMF's outlook is for a 10-percent plunge.

While the tourism sector brought in more than 18 billion euros for the Greek economy last year, the 2020 take may reach only 3.5 billion according to the SETE industry group.

Over the decade of its agonising debt crisis from 2008-18, Greek GDP shrank by almost one-quarter. The country had returned to growth in recent years, but its economy remains delicate.

Although Greece has suffered less from the coronavirus than its European neighbours, recording just 305 deaths so far, the strict lockdown imposed for six weeks in spring brought activity to a halt and delayed the start of tourist season.