Greece's exit from bailouts rather symbolic, more work needed

Greece's forthcoming exit on Aug. 20 from the bailout programs signed with international lenders since May 2010 is rather symbolic and more work needs to be done to support the economy's return to growth and prosperity, a Greek expert told Xinhua.

"The exit from the memoranda is an important development for Greece. But, at this point it is more symbolic than substantial in nature," Constantinos Filis, Director of Research at the Institute of International Relations of Panteion University in Athens, said.

Eight years after the start of the debt crisis that cost Greece one quarter of its GDP during the years of steep recession, opened a discussion on a possible bankruptcy and Grexit, and sent half a million Greeks to migrate, as the country struggled with record high unemployment rates, the economic indexes have improved.

After the three bailouts of some 300 billion euros (343 billion U.S. dollars) total worth, Greece was kept afloat and posted growth, with the unemployment rate falling in May 2018 under 20 percent for first time in six years, according to the latest official data by the Hellenic Statistical Authority. But challenges remain, according to experts.

According to Filis, the exit from the bailouts will gain substance if Greece succeeds in standing on its own feet, without having to lean on its partners, and be able to borrow smoothly from the markets from now on, at manageable cost.

For the Greek professor, the end of the bailout era will be meaningful only if the country succeeds in correcting distortions (for example, legal certainty, tax framework) to make it an attractive destination for investments.

Eight years after the crisis which tested Greek people as well as the euro zone, Greece still needs to do more to drastically reduce red tape, issue court rulings promptly within a reasonable time and create a new production model based on its comparative advantages, for instance in agricultural sector, medicines, energy, trade and commercial hub, etc., Filis told Xinhua.

"Only then will the exit from the memorandum era take on real, concrete meaning," the professor stressed.