Basic HTML Version
Trade with Greece
57
entire world that Greece can. We can overcome
the crisis.
In his opening speech, the President of the ACCI,
Constantine Michalos
, said:
I would like to welcome you to this Ceremony for
the presentation of the ACCI Business Awards,
and to thank you for honouring us with your pres-
ence.
For more than 15 years, these awards have been
promoting the concept and values of entrepre-
neurship. They reward vision, creativity, innova-
tion, extroversion, insight. They encourage
accountability and contribution to society, as inte-
gral parts of a modern business philosophy. They
recognize the efforts of the people –entrepre-
neurs and workers– who are putting these values
into practice on a daily basis. Together, they are
facing challenges, overcoming obstacles and
achieving goals.
We must draw inspiration and courage from their
example, from the stories of these businesses –
and many others that manage to forge ahead,
against the storm; to fight against the crisis, and
against everything that caused it; to claim a viable
tomorrow, with better conditions and growth
prospects.
And we will definitely need both the inspiration,
and the courage. Because the reality we are
experiencing reminds of a dark tunnel with no dis-
cernible exit light. On the contrary, insecurity and
uncertainty for the future are exacerbated with
every passing day.
Unfortunately, in this volatile environment
Greece remains a guinea pig, while its political
system shows clearly that it is unable to rise to
the occasion.
For decades now, the business world was asking
for many of the structural reforms that are being
imposed in the wrong way and in a climate of
panic by the Troika. For decades now, we have
been calling for the restructuring of the public
sector; for a smaller and more efficient state.
Unfortunately, we were not heard and now, all
these things are imposed by our lenders in a cruel
and unjust manner.
We have been calling for privatizations and the
rationalization of the public enterprises' operation.
Unfortunately, nothing was done. And now these
things are also forced upon us by our lenders,
despite the precipitous fall in market values.
We have been calling for the opening of closed
markets and professions. Neither this was done.
And now, under the demands of our lenders, it is
carried out in a manner that turns deregulation
into cannibalism.
We have been asking for modern, flexible and
competitive labour market regulation. And each
time we caused uproar, even from the political
system itself. And now, during a crisis, under
unfavourable social conditions, this is imposed by
our lenders in a manner that, let me stress it once
again, under such circumstances disrupts social
cohesion.
We have been asking for less bureaucracy and a
more competitive tax system, and instead of that
we got tax increases; a real mess of a tax system,
with tax measures reminding of machine-gun fire
against entrepreneurship.
Unfortunately, Greece's politicians have been
keeping their eyes and ears shut, never actually
embracing the urgent proposals of sound entre-
preneurship. And, to make things worse, they
now feign indifference, heeding only our lenders
commands.
These attacks against business and society must