Skrekas also added that "inflation in super markets is almost zero," relative to the previous year. He said that high prices "are the biggest problems facing households and the top priority for the government is to find a way to address it". Referring to general inflation, he said this is currently at about 3 percent in Greece, "from which point we believe we will have a de-escalation in the coming months. The fastest easing is recorded in food and is due, mostly, to the government's measures. Greece has assumed the most measures in comparison with all other European countries."

After a decade of pain, the Greek economy is forecast to grow nearly 3% this year, far outpacing the euro zone average of 0.8%. But an exodus of workers during Greece's economic crisis, a shrinking population and strict migration rules have left the country struggling to find tens of thousands of workers to fill vacancies in farming, tourism, construction and other sectors. Greece will take in around 5,000 seasonal farm workers under the 2022 deal signed with Egypt. The countries have discussed expanding the "mutually beneficial" scheme to the Greek construction and tourism sectors, the Greek Migration Ministry said in a statement. Migration has long been a divisive issue in Europe, but the plan had won broad support from employers groups keen to find workers. Greek Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis met Egyptian Labour Minister Hassan Shehata in Cairo this week and said the countries should also step up cooperation to fend off illegal migration flows in the region. Egyptian officials have said their country deserves recognition for largely stopping migrants setting off from its northern coast across the Mediterranean to Europe since 2016. The European Union this year announced a multi-billion euro funding package and an upgraded relationship with Egypt, part of a push to cut down on the number of migrants crossing over from North Africa. Rights groups have criticised Western support for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who came to power a decade ago after leading the overthrow of Egypt's first democratically elected leader.  

Following the decision's publication and a recommendation of President of the Anti-Seismic Protection Agency Efthymios Lekkas, the circulation and approach or anchoring of any kind of vessel and swimming in the area beyond an imaginary line between the north and south ends of the bay is forbidden. Also banned is the approach to the beach from the rocky slope and to the plateau above the beach. Visitors may not approach the shipwreck within 10 meters from the rocky slope. The vessel was discovered in 1980 carrying a cargo of contraband cigarettes and ended up at the beach after being washed ashore. In 2018, the beach was temporarily closed after a landslide, and reopened with restrictions. Another landslide occurred in 2022 following an earthquake, and use of the beach was banned to both locals and visitors, a measure that will be maintained through 2024.

Chairman Eftychis Vassilakis said after the annual general assembly that Aegean had met all its obligations, direct or in loans, to the State (such as warrants) and proposed the distribution of a divident for 2023 of 0.75 euros per share, for a total of 67.625 million euros.

The Eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lent Greece about 280 billion Euros during the crisis on the condition that Greece impose tough austerity measures. Austerity slashed public sector wages and pensions, and triggered years of violent protests. But in recent years the economy has recovered, leading to a series of early loan repayments. An official who requested anonymity told Reuters the government planned to repay between 2.5 billion and 5 billion euros to eurozone countries, "probably in the second half of the year". The official said this would help the country make room for more bond issues without increasing its debt, while adding liquidity to a shallow Greek bond market. About 70% of the country's debt is held by its official lenders, the eurozone and the European Central Bank. A second official confirmed the sum and timeline. Greece recently regained its investment grade after languishing for 13 years in the "junk" category, which helped it attract strong demand from foreign investors in its bond issues. With the planned payment this year, Greece will have repaid about 15 billion-17 billion euros from the first bailout loans. In 2022, the country paid off the IMF two years ahead of schedule and in 2023 it repayed 5 billion euros of loans to EU countries. Wall Street surged on Friday after a softer-than-expected jobs report fueled hope for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve while also reflecting U.S. economic resilience. The country's third bailout expired in 2018 and since then it has relied solely on debt markets for its borrowing needs. ($1 = 0.9366 euros)  

From an average of $4.15 billion in the three-year period 2017-2019, they reached $6.7 billion in the three-year period 2021-2023, an increase of 62% as the Greek economy experienced significant growth rates. In 2020, they had fallen to $3.2 billion, but this was due to the coronavirus pandemic that led to a halt in economic activity, with global FDI plunging 58% in that year. In 2021, FDI in Greece soared to $6.3 billion to reach an all-time high of $8.4 billion in 2022. Last year, they fell to $5.4 billion, a level that is nevertheless higher than in the years 2017-2019. According to the OECD, FDI involves the acquisition of equity capital, often through mergers and acquisitions or the creation of new production units, reinvestment of profits and intra-company borrowing. The total stock of FDI inward position in Greece increased in 2022 to $50.8 billion or 23.2% of GDP. There was also a spectacular increase in direct investment by Greek companies abroad, a development that also reflects the strengthening of the Greek economy. From an average of just $429 million in 2017-219, it jumped to $2.8 billion over the three-year period 2021-2023. In fact, they continued to grow in 2023, reaching almost $4 billion. The total stock of investment by Greek firms abroad (FDI Outward Position) amounted to $16.7 billion or 7.7% of GDP in 2022. Globally, 2023 was a difficult year for FDI due to the deteriorating economic environment - with inflation and rising interest rates negatively affecting growth, particularly in the Eurozone - and the geopolitical situation, with the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East weighing on the climate. According to the OECD report, global FDI (inbound and outbound) fell by 7% to $1.36 trillion, continuing the decline seen in 2022 and moving for the second consecutive year to levels below those seen before the pandemic. Investment fell last year in more than two-thirds of countries, most notably in China, where direct investment in the country by foreign investors fell to $42 billion from $190 billion in 2022. In India, too, however, there was a significant decline in foreign investment, with the amount of inbound FDI amounting to $28 billion from nearly $50 billion, respectively. The US attracted by far the most inbound FDI, with a total amount of $341.4 billion in 2023, when the total in OECD countries amounted to $501.3 billion. In second place was Brazil with 63.6 billion dollars and in third place was Canada with 50.3 billion dollars. The US also holds the sceptre in terms of the stock of foreign direct investment, both inward, which in 2023 amounted to USD 13.5 trillion or 50.2% of US GDP, and outward, which amounted to USD 9.5 trillion. In second place is China in inbound FDI with a stock of $3.5 trillion or 20.1% of its GDP and the Netherlands in outbound with $3.4 billion, equivalent to 309% of its GDP. However, China also has a high stock of outbound investment by its companies amounting to $2.9 trillion or 16.6% of its GDP. Last year was a big blow to FDI in the form of M&As, which fell to a 10-year low due to the deterioration of the economic and geopolitical environment. FDI in the form of greenfield investment also declined, while overall equity flows remained at lower levels than in 2005.

The first concerns the eurozone's growth rate in the second quarter of this year which, according to initial indications, shows clear signs of acceleration compared to the first quarter (0.3%). The second concerns the course of inflation which, despite remaining stagnant in April at 2.4%, is nevertheless estimated to remain on a downward trajectory, in line with the targets set by the ECB. This development reinforces the prospect of a reduction in interest rates not only in June but possibly also in July, provided that this trend is confirmed in the next few months. In view of the above, the euro area appears to be emerging from the 'artificial recession' that it has been in for the last two quarters. And this is happening in a context of falling inflation, which paves the way for a reduction in interest rates in the coming months, with all that this implies in terms of boosting disposable income, consumption and investment. Greek growth This positive environment ensures that growth in the Greek economy will remain strong based on the Stability Programme's projections this year and in the coming years, economic agents with knowledge of the processes taking place in Brussels and Frankfurt point out. The Stability Programme submitted to the Commission in mid-week forecasts a growth rate in Greece of 2.5% this year and 2.6% in 2025. These projections are based on private consumption growing at an annualised rate of 1.6% over the 2024-2025 period, mainly due to an increase in disposable income, from rising wages and falling inflation. Public consumption will follow the opposite path, with its growth rate being low this year (0.7%) and negative in 2025 (-2.5%). More important, however, compared to private consumption, will be the contribution to private investment growth. According to the programme, gross fixed capital formation is expected to increase by 9.1% in 2024 and by 14.4% in 2025 as a result of the absorption of the Recovery Fund, the reduction in interest rates and the more favourable environment created for the Greek economy by the recovery of the investment grade. Thus, investment as a percentage of GDP is estimated to increase to 17% in 2025, from 14% in 2023, thus narrowing the gap with the euro area average (22% in 2023). The budgetary projections As regards the primary budget surplus, the programme projects the budget surplus to reach 2.1% of GDP this year and in 2025, respectively, while the general government deficit is projected at 1.2% of GDP this year and 0.9% of GDP in 2025. Government debt is projected to be reduced to 146.3% of GDP in 2025 from 152.7% of GDP this year and 161.9% of GDP last year.

The number of unemployed persons amounted to 492,867, down by 47,319 compared with March 2023 (8.8%) and by 24,176 people compared with February 2024 (4.7%). For women, the unemployment rate fell to 13.8% from 14.6% in March last year and for men to 7.2% from 8.7%. By major age groups, in the 15-24 year old group the unemployment rate dropped to 21.1% from 24.8% in March 2023 and in the 25-74 year old age group to 9.6% from 10.6%. According to ELSTAT, there were 4,325,848 people in employment in March 2024, increase by 115,672 people compared with March 2023 (2.7%) and by 33,442 people compared with February 2024 (0.8 %).

It is estimated that the interconnection of POS and cash registers can be an important tool, as well as the higher revenues from the income tax, which will be brought by the increases in the income of civil servants, the increase in the minimum wage as well as the new income calculation system for freelancers. The contribution of growth rates to the increase in public revenues will also play an important role, which, although it will be marginally lower due to inflation, will nevertheless run at rates higher than those of the eurozone. This trend is also confirmed by the data released a few days ago by the National Economy and Finance Ministry for the implementation of the budget in the first three months of the year, as it is clearly seen that the only source that brings significant results that of income tax, with the lion's share coming from businesses. The fact that VAT revenues remain in positive territory is also important, despite having created a high base last year, which is attributed on the one hand to the growth of the economy and on the other hand to the extensive use of plastic money.

This development was driven by an 11.6% increase in receipts from residents of the EU27, which stood at 11,169.7 million euros or 54.2% of total travel receipts, and by an 18.3% rise in receipts from other country residents to 8,576.6 million euros. The year-on-year rise in travel receipts was driven by a 20.8% increase in the number of non-resident inbound travellers, the central bank said, as well as by a rise in average expenditure per overnight stay by 6.9 euros or 8.6%. Inbound tourists in 2023 totaled 30.08 million, against 29.875 million travellers in 2022.

Additionally, the Prime Minister spoke with representatives from over 70 companies participating in the 30th "Career Day," seeking employees for more than 1,000 positions in the blue economy sectors. He also conversed with unemployed individuals seeking employment and employees looking to change jobs, who, through the "Career Days," can directly contact employers. The Prime Minister congratulated the director and DYPA overall, as well as the Ministry of Labour, for their initiatives in the active labour market policies sector. "As unemployment decreases and wages rise in our country, it becomes increasingly important to align the potential of the workforce with the real needs of the labor market. In this area, the Greek Public Employment Service plays a decisive role, not only through actions such as Career Days but also through training and retraining programs, including DYPA's apprenticeship schools. This enables us to offer more employment opportunities, especially to our young fellow citizens, and, above all, more stable, well-paid jobs," said Mitsotakis.

Specifically, the price of lamb in supermarkets was at the same levels as in 2023, at just under 10 euros per kilo. The price of goat meat was slightly higher than in 2023, while the prices of products such as eggs and feta were somewhat lower. The same sources said that the stalling of price hikes of basic Easter goods, combined with the good performance that has already been observed of measures for controlling prices in supermarkets, created a positive framework and expectations for a further decline in food inflation, which has already dropped.