Greek Development Ministry Reveals New Plans for 2014

Liquidity is one of the largest challenges that the government of Antonis Samaras is faced with in 2014, Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis said at the weekend, and at the same time underlined the need for a positive climate.

At a press conference presenting his ministry’s three priorities for 2014, Hatzidakis said that that the measures will support a productive model, strengthen competitiveness and lift barriers to the functioning of the market. All these measures, he added, aim at protecting consumers.

In short, the ministry is going to legislate on an extension of the expiration date for fresh milk, scrapping uniform prices on books and the sale of non-prescription drugs in supermarkets. These reforms, according to Hatzidakis, are going to boost competition on the market and hopefully lead to the lowering of prices.

He also said that his ministry plans to introduce a special tag on products, that will certify their Greek origin.

Finally, he said that his ministry will continue to battle against illegal trade and pointed out that in 2013 alone, 10.6 million items were confiscated (or up from to 2 million items the year before).