ATHENS – Greece’s return to high economic growth rates in 2024 will depend mostly on the de-escalation of a geopolitical crisis and energy prices, the continuation of tourism growth, implementation of investment plans, and the condition of the Eurozone economy,” said Christina Papakonstantinou, vice-governor of the Bank of Greece on Thursday.

Addressing a conference on professional insurance, Papakonstantinou noted that challenges facing the Greek economy were not exclusively linked with the current situation, but with structural problems such as the aging population. She said that the number of professional insurance funds grew from three to 28 in the period of 2004-2021, with the majority of them being created in the last six years. However, Greece still lags behind compared to other Eurozone countries. Papakonstantinou further stated that limitations in setting up multi-employer funds are obstructing workers in small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed individuals from reaping the benefits of professional insurance.