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Texte du discours du
ministre des Finances M. Yannis Stournaras lors du dîner de la
Conférence au Sommet de l'Autorité européenne des marchés financiers au
Musée de l'Acropole dans le cadre de la Présidence grecque du Conseil de l'UE
Athènes - 19 mai 2014
Ladies
and gentlemen,
I
am pleased to be among the board of supervisors and the management board of
European securities and market authorities.
Recent
economic data in the EU indicate that the recovery has gained momentum and the
prospects for this year are brighter.
The
exit from the financial crisis is evident. Fiscal adjustment eases, confidence
gradually returns to the European economy, while GDP growth resumes.
Greece
, after a long lasting and
difficult period for households and businesses, creates the conditions for exit
from the prolonged recession and can look at the future with more optimism.
The
country secured its place in the eurozone and regained its credibility among the
international financial markets.
Confidence
in the Greek economy is being restored at a fast pace, something that is
reflected both in the sharp decline of the Greek Government bond yields and in
the recent successful exit to the international capital markets of the State,
the systemic banks and several large corporates.
According
to
Eurostat
,
Greece
in 2013 surpassed the targets set in the Budget and produced a primary fiscal
surplus of 0.8% of GDP, compared to a 0% target.
The
accomplishment is even more striking in cyclically-adjusted terms: Since 2009,
the fiscal adjustment equals 19.4% of GDP.
And
this is without precedent in the history of international finance.
The
general government results in the first four months of 2014 indicate that the
fiscal outcome will be better than the target.
Competitiveness
in terms of unit labour cost has improved by 23% since 2009, and has regained
the losses occurred since the introduction of the euro. Furthermore, the current
account balance in 2013 turned positive for the first time since 1948 (0.7% of
GDP).
Thus,
the two main causes of the Greek economic crisis, the large twin deficits, that
is the primary general government and the current account deficits, have now
been eliminated.
The
macroeconomic environment improves. Initial estimates of the economic activity,
for the first time in recent years, were revised upwards for 2013.
The
GDP for the first quarter of 2014 that was published last week further supports
the assumption that the deep recession is eventually coming to an end.
GDP
fell by 1.1% which is the mildest rate of decline of the last four years and is
compared to a fall of 6% in the first quarter 2013.
The
gradual recovery of economic activity is captured by several short-term
indicators including the economic sentiment indicator, the PMI, retail sales and
industrial production.
Exports
of goods and services in nominal terms in 2013 (BoP data) increased by 1.9%,
reflecting to some extent the gains in competitiveness.
Unemployment
has been declining moderately over the last five months; however, it remains at
unacceptably high levels.
Numerous
structural reforms have already been adopted in almost all areas of economic
activity, including the product and labour markets, the tax system, the public
administration and the health and pension systems. These reforms render the
economy more competitive, secure lower prices for citizens and boost output and
employment.
In
addition, the successful recapitalization of the Greek banks was of paramount
importance for the improvement of their capital adequacy and liquidity.
Overall,
during the second round of recapitalization, the Greek banks raised 8.3billion
euros, thus exceeding the capital needs as assessed by the Bank of Greece, and
safeguarded the stability of the domestic banking system.
As
a matter of fact, the National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank also
raised the necessary capital for repaying the
Hellenic
Republic
preference shares.
As
a result, last Wednesday, Standard & Poors upgraded
the four systemic banks.
The
finalization of the recapitalization and the restructuring of the banking sector
this year, together with the return to the international capital markets, is
expected to restore normal lending conditions and
contribute decisively to sustainable, long-term growth.
Greece
is in the process of
developing its new outward looking, business-friendly growth model, which will
be presented in detail by the Prime Minister tomorrow.
This
model fully exploits
Greece
’s dynamic comparative advantages: geography, climate, culture, natural
resources and mostly, its highly educated labour force.
It will
lay its foundations on sustainable factors such as productive investment,
exports of goods and services, innovation, privatisation and foreign direct
investment. On the supply side, the new model is expected to focus on
outward-looking sectors and activities such as tourism, energy, food and
agriculture, aquaculture, information technology, telecommunications, real
estate development and transport.
On the
demand side it is expected to show a partial shift from consumption into
investment and net exports.
The
transition to the new growth model is based on two preconditions:
First,
to ensure that public debt is sustainable. On May 5th the Eurogroup
taking into account that Greece produced a primary surplus in 2013 and that the
programme is on track, reaffirmed its commitment to examine the sustainability
of Greece’s public debt and take appropriate measures in tandem with the
decision of November 2012. This will take place after the pan-european
stress-tests of banks by the ECB in autumn.
Second,
to increase liquidity to Greek enterprises, and especially the SMEs.
So
far, lack of liquidity has acted as a major impediment to the recovery of
economic activity.
However,
the return of deposits, the repayment of arrears, the recapitalization of the
banking sector, the absorption of EU Structural Funds, as well as several
initiatives taken by the Greek government such as the creation of an Investment
Fund called Institution for Growth (IfG), will act in the direction of freeing
resources for investment.
As
the global economy strengthens and in particular as the activity of
Greece
’s trading partners picks up, the regained competitiveness will be better
reflected in the country’s performance in the external sector.
However,
radical changes do not concern only
Greece
.
The
crisis made us realize that EMU is a monetary union but an incomplete economic
and financial union.
Thus,
it accelerated the need for deepening of economic and monetary integration.
I
dare to say that in recent years, the European project has entered a new phase.
Within
this framework, Greece was invited not only to demonstrate its commitment to the
common European ideals by adopting measures to reform its economy and restore
fiscal discipline but, also, to assume the Presidency of the Council of the
European Union while in the process of this transformation.
The
Greek Presidency has put strong emphasis on the revision of the regulatory
framework for the operation and the supervision of the financial sector, in
order to strengthen confidence and increase liquidity in the European economy.
During
the first quarter of the presidency, we worked on eight (8) files in the
financial sector and on seven (7) of them, an agreement was reached with the
European Parliament, despite severe time constraints due to European elections.
Above
all, the Banking Union constitutes one of the most challenging goals towards
economic and financial integration, since the adoption of the common currency.
The
completion of the banking union is a prerequisite for restoring both liquidity
in the European economy, and confidence and reliability in the banking sector,
as well as for safeguarding financial stability.
The
Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) is one of the key pillars of the European
Banking Union, complementing the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and ensuring
that decisions to consolidate any troubled banks will be taken in a coordinated
and effective way, reducing the negative impact on financial stability and
aiming not to burden taxpayers in case of liquidation of a bank.
The
Regulation, together with the Single Resolution Fund, substantially completes
the building up of the Banking Union.
The
Greek Presidency managed to reach an agreement acceptable by all parties, which
was endorsed by the European Parliament on 15 April.
In
the area of capital markets, the most important file was the revision of Markets
in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the corresponding Regulation (MiFIR).
The
agreement reached is by all means an important step towards the establishment of
a safer, more sound, more transparent and more responsible financial system.
Both
legislative instruments seek to resolve problems encountered mainly in the
securities price formation.
A
very common phenomenon in modern markets is the “Dark Pool trading”, i.e.
trading with no pre-transparency, which usually, but not always, refers to large
blocks of shares, which are traded "blindly" and where the price
formation does not always favor small investors.
Under
the new framework, strict transparency rules are adopted which aim to limit the
use of dark pools in equity trading in
order to eliminate the negative implications
in the price formation process and orderly trading.
Furthermore,
organized trading of financial instruments must now shift to multilateral and
well-regulated trading platforms.
By
introducing a harmonised EU system setting limits on the positions held in
commodity derivatives, MIFID II will contribute to orderly pricing and prevent
market abuse, thus curbing speculation on commodities and the disastrous impact
it can have on the world's poorest populations.
It
will also strengthen investor protection. Investment firms will have to meet
stricter standards to ensure that investors are offered products which are
suitable to them and that their assets are well protected.
We
have also completed the legislative files on the Central Securities Depositories
as well as the UCITS 5 Directive.
In
the area of European payments market, we have managed to reach an agreement with
the European Parliament on the Payment Accounts Directive (PAD), which will
allow for lower charges, transparency and a wide range of facilities, for the
benefit of consumers.
Regarding
the Packaged Retail Investment Products (PRIPS Regulation) which was a difficult
and contentious dossier, we managed to reach an agreement with the European
Parliament.
An
additional file was the modification of the Rules for the Single Euro Payments
Area (SEPA) where we managed to reach a speedy agreement with the Parliament.
Finally, we have been working on the 4th revision of the Anti-Money Laundering
(Directive and Regulation) where the purpose is to update the framework for the
tools to fight money laundering.
The
Presidency elaborated some provisions of the draft regulation and we hope to
agree on a general approach in the Council in the second half of the Presidency.
The
work of the Greek Presidency in the second quarter April - June 2014 is focusing
on 7 new files (Long Term Investment Funds, Benchmarking, Bank Structural Reform,
Securities Financing Transactions, Multilateral Interchange Fees, Insurance
Mediation Directive II and new rules on Institutions for Occupational Retirement
Provision).
Ladies
and gentlemen,
The
financial crisis revealed the weaknesses of the regulation and supervision of
the financial sector in
Europe
and worldwide.
It
is very hopeful that at present in
Europe
we are pursuing a comprehensive reform programme of financial reform,
establishing common prudential rules applied consistently throughout the EU.
The
aim should be to improve cross-border cooperation and to strengthen strict
supervision and systemic oversight across member states so that confidence and
stability are embedded in the euro area.
In
this respect, I would like to emphasize on the key role of ESMA to the financial
stability of the EU given its supervisory duties of European securities trading
across all EU member states.
Last
but not least, instead of establishing unilateral rules,
Europe
should work together with other governments and international institutions to
determine a stricter regulatory framework and increase transparency in financial
markets in order to enhance the efficiency and the stability of the world
economy.
Thank
you for your attention!
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