PM Samaras calls for initiatives by foreign businesses in Greece

Representatives of 13 multinational companies operating in Greece met with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at his office in Maximos Mansion on Monday morning and were briefed by him on the government's targets to improve infrastructure and create new jobs.

The meeting was also attended by Ministers of Finance Yannis Stournaras and Development Costis Hatzidakis, and Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis.

Samaras asserted that the country's competitiveness had improved and that the issue of its exiting the eurozone had ended. The new investment draft bill would change the landscape, he said, and he called on the business officers to intensify their presence in Greece and introduce new products. Both sides will hold a follow-up meeting a month from now.

Companies want business processes to be improved, and bureaucratic obstacles to business to be lifted in particular, Stournaras said following the meeting. He added that the tax bill must be passed by Parliament in order for Greece to get the next loan tranche, but did not specify whether the vote would take place before the holidays or not.

Government spokesman: Investors can feel assured that Greece will remain in eurozone

"Government has other priorities and not the elections," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told national radio NET on Monday.
Kedikoglou said the government has "secured the liquidity necessary for the economy and our banking system, and now this liquidity must be taken advantage of. Investors can now feel assured that Greece can remain in Europe and in the eurozone; let us see how this will affect Greek citizens. Unemployment is the first front we must bring results in."
Referring to the political leaders' joint meeting scheduled for Tuesday, the government spokesman said that Prime Minister Antonis C. Samaras and his ruling coalition partners Evangelos Venizelos of PASOK and Fotis Kouvelis of the Democratic Left "must determine the government's future plan, their future moves and how we will utilize what we gained with EU summit's decision."
Responding to a question of whether the new electoral law will be on the agenda in Tuesday's meeting, Kedikoglou replied that the government's priorities are different, and do not relate to elections.