European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagard, in Athens for the ECB board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, praised the return of Greek economy to health following the crisis.
She also noted the efforts of the Greek people, during a formal dinner provided in her honor by Bank of Greece (BoG) Governor Yannis Stournaras, who is hosting the meeting at BoG premises.
Greece's economy, Lagarde said, could serve as an inspirational example in very uncertain times in terms of resilience, and as an example of the importance of being part of a common European fate.
From 2008 to 2016, the ECB head said, Greece's GDP shrank by over a quarter, unemployment rose by 20 percentage points at its apex, and catastrophe hit again with the coronavirus pandemic just as the economy was starting to recover and reforms give results. Greece has been at the forefront of global challenges that Europe faces, including climate crisis and the migration crisis, she also added.
The resilience of the country was noteworthy however, as the current per capita GDP is 10% above the pre-pandemic level - a much stronger performance than the Eurozone in total - and unemployment has also dropped dramatically, to 10.9% in August, the lowest it has been since the end of 2009. It is not just the resilience of the Greek economy, she added, it is also the resilience of the Greek people that is noteworthy, remaining committed to Europe through difficult times.
The governors of the national central banks of the eurozone and the six members of ECB's executive committee are meeting at BoG's headquarters in central Athens to decide on monetary policy.
After the meeting, the ECB will publish the ECB's interest rates and other instruments, and following that, Lagarde with ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos and Stournaras will provide an in-depth explanation of the reasons behind the latest monetary policy decisions at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.