ATHENS — The Greek government plans additional interventions for sectors such as tourism, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Friday, adding that the support measures will continue for as long as it takes, while their lifting will begin when a return to normality has been secured.

In comments made to Thema FM radio, Staikouras said that in cooperation with all related ministries, the finance ministry is expanding "as much as possible" the targeted measures for the restart of sectors which are in need of even more support. "We plan some additional interventions. We try to find funds and will announce those interventions when we are ready," he said. The FinMin noted that the support measures cannot be lifted "starting tomorrow" and should not be lifted. "This is the main issue and a priority of our country and we discuss these issues in European fora," he stressed. He added that both in 2021 and 2022 there will be fiscal flexibility and noted that the government has prepared three scenarios for the economy and reiterated that "we build up cash reserves to make sure that we can support society". Staikouras said that the country's GDP was expected to rise by more than 4.0 pct this year, without taking into account any positive impact from the Recovery Fund.