ATHENS — "The Greek government is working with a plan, method and flexibility to lead the country out of the health crisis and to enter an orbit of high, sustainable, smart growth without any exclusions, laying the foundations for a future of prosperity, opportunities and capabilities for the next generations," Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Friday.

Speaking in Parliament, during a discussion on government plans to exploit EU Recovery Funds, Staikouras noted that no country was prepared to face the turbulence caused by the pandemic crisis and strongly criticised opposition party KINAL for a "lack of responsibility".

"The government has supported the business community to minimise the impact of the crisis," Staikouras said, and noted that these measures focused on boosting liquidity and protecting employment, adding that the government will not stop its efforts to support enterprises with a sense of responsibility. "We have no illusions. The next few months will be difficult. A return to normality will be gradual and as a country we have to exploit all of our comparative advantages, historic, geographical, geopolitical and environmental."

The finance minister also refered to a National Recovery and Resilience Plan, designed to help in the maximum exploitation of EU funds and to redirect the Greek economy towards a new, modern, open, socially fair model that will boost productivity and structural competitiveness, employment, investments and social cohesion. Staikouras said Greece expects to receive funds worth 5.5 billion euros from the Recovery Fund in 2021.