Christos Staikouras

Greece announced new tax breaks and economic assistance to thousands of businesses and workers on Monday to buffer its economy from a national lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The government on Monday announced a comprehensive package of measures for the support of businesses and employees affected by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Among the measures heraldd by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras is the extension of a 800 million-euro handout to a total of 1.7 million workers along with an extension of a moratorium of their debts to the state for 4 months.

A comprehensive package of measures to protect the economy from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is to be unveiled on Monday by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis and Labor and Social Affairs Minister Yiannis Vroutsis. 

The huge pressure on the budget due to the coronavirus pandemic could see civil servants' salaries being reduced in the coming months if the crisis is prolonged.
Finance Minister Christos Staikouras did not rule that out on Friday, but he did note that it is not on the table at the moment.

A rise in borrowing costs caused by the coronavirus has halted Greek plans to tap bond markets again this year, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Friday.

Greece emerged from bailouts in 2018 after a decade-long debt crisis that locked it out of bond markets for years. It has since had several successful issues, including a 15-year bond in January.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras has for the first time spoken specifically of a recession for the Greek economy this year, as on Thursday on Skai TV he estimated a contraction of 1 to 3 percent, without ruling out an even worse scenario if the pandemic lasts beyond June or returns in the fall.

Greece expects its economy to contract by between 1 percent and 3 percent this year due to the impact of the coronavirus, its finance minister said on Thursday.

Greece's economy will contract this year because of the coronavirus lockdown but the projected recession will be temporary, the finance minister said on Tuesday.

It was a rapid re-estimation as the minister had projected eight days ago that the economy would weather the coronavirus storm and grow just over 0 percent.

The Finance Ministry is preparing a new package of measures, which would be the fourth in a row, to support the economy and the businesses from the repercussions of the coronavirus epidemic. 

At least 50 percent of enterprises in Greece are hurting due to the crisis caused by new coronavirus, according to data presented by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras on Friday. In total, 440,000 corporations employing about 1 million workers with a turnover of 6.5 billion euros per year are showing a reduction in their financial figures, State General Accounting Office figures indicate.