ATHENS: Greece’s era of austerity is over, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras claimed Friday, as he painted a positive picture of the reforms his government has agreed to take after the bailout program ends in 2018.
Speaking in Parliament, Tsipras described the deal reached Monday as an “exceptional success” and said it showed the country’s creditors accepted Greece’s insistence that it could no longer bear further budget austerity.
“I am fully convinced we achieved an honorable compromise,” Tsipras said, adding that all sides at the euro zone finance ministers’ meeting in Brussels had agreed for the “first time after seven years ... to leave the path of continued austerity behind us.”
On Monday, Greece agreed to legislate new reforms to come into effect in 2019, but said these will be fiscally neutral: For every euro’s worth of new burdens on the Greek taxpayer, an equal amount of relief will be granted.
In return, Greece’s creditors agreed to send their bailout inspectors back to Athens next week for further talks to complete a long overdue review of Greece’s progress in its bailout program.
Greece’s central bank chief warned Friday that the bailout talks must be concluded as soon as possible.
“If the negotiations drag on with no agreement in sight, then Greece will enter a new cycle of uncertainty, deteriorating relations with our partners and creditors and a backsliding of the economy into stagnation,” Yannis Stournaras said in a speech.
He warned that risks “also arise from delays and procrastination in implementing reforms already agreed on, or from distortions to competition that could hurt crucial sectors of the economy.”
Tsipras said both the new measures requested by creditors and the government-proposed relief measures will be legislated at the same time.
The prime minister’s left-led coalition government, trailing badly in polls, has presented Monday’s deal as a decisive, positive step forward for austerity-weary Greeks hammered by seven years of financial crisis that plunged the country into an economic depression.
No details have been provided of what the new reforms will entail, although there is widespread speculation they will include a broadening of the tax base and further pension and labor reforms.
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos has provided no details of the upcoming reforms. Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos on Tuesday said no specifics could be given as the reforms are subject to negotiation and agreement with the country’s creditors.
Greece has depended on three international bailout funds since 2010, when it became locked out of bond markets by sky-high borrowing rates.
In return for the rescue loans, it has had to overhaul its economy, imposing rounds of spending cuts and tax hikes. The austerity saw the economy contract by more than a quarter and sent unemployment soaring. The jobless figure now hovers at around 23 percent, down from a high of 27 percent.
Era of austerity is over: Tsipras
Era of austerity is over: Tsipras
Global brands shut Middle East stores as conflict causes chaos
- Luxury brands and retailers close stores in Middle East
- Conflict threatens the region that has been luxury’s fastest growing
- Mass-market retailers monitor situation, adjust operations in region
PARIS: In Dubai and other major Middle Eastern shopping hubs, many stores are closed or operating with a skeleton staff as the escalating conflict in the region causes chaos for businesses and travel.
The US-Israeli air war against Iran expanded on Monday with no end in sight, with Tehran firing missiles and drones at Gulf states as it retaliates for a weekend of bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader and reportedly killed scores of Iranian civilians, including a strike on a girls’ primary school.
Chalhoub Group, which runs 900 stores for brands from Versace and Jimmy Choo to Sephora across the region, said its stores in Bahrain were closed, while other markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan remained open though staff attendance was “voluntary.”
“We operate with a lean team formed of members who volunteered and feel comfortable to come to the store,” Chalhoub’s Vice President of Communications Lynn al Khatib told Reuters, adding that the company’s leadership team personally visited Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates on Monday morning to check in with workers.
E-commerce giant Amazon closed its fulfillment center operations in Abu Dhabi, suspended deliveries across the region and instructed its employees in Saudi Arabia and Jordan to remain indoors, Business Insider reported on Monday, citing an internal memo.
Gucci-owner Kering said its stores were temporarily closed in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar and it has suspended travel to the Middle East.
Luxury growth engine under threat
Shares in luxury groups LVMH, Hermes, and Cartier-owner Richemont were down 4 percent to 5.7 percent on Monday afternoon as investors digested the knock-on impacts of the conflict.
The Middle East still accounts for a small share of global spending on luxury — between 5 percent and 10 percent, according to RBC analyst Piral Dadhania. But the region was “luxury’s brightest performer” last year, according to consultancy Bain, while sales of expensive handbags have stalled in the rest of the world.
Now, shuttered airports have put an abrupt stop to tourism flows into the region and missile strikes — including one that damaged Dubai’s five-star Fairmont Palm hotel — are likely to dissuade travelers, particularly if the conflict drags on.
“If you assume that it’s a $5 billion to $6 billion (travel retail) market and let’s say it’s going to be shut down for a month, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are definitely at risk,” said Victor Dijon, senior partner at consultancy Kearney.
If Middle Eastern shoppers cannot travel to Paris or Milan, that could also hurt luxury sales in Europe, he added.
Luxury brands have been investing in lavish new stores and exclusive events across the region. Cartier unveiled a “high-jewelry” exhibition in Dubai’s Keturah Park just days before the conflict started.
Cartier and Richemont did not reply to requests for comment.
Luxury conglomerate LVMH has also bet big on the region. Last month, its flagship brand Louis Vuitton staged an exhibition at the Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab hotel, and beauty retailer Sephora launched its first Saudi beauty brand.
LVMH does not report specific figures for the region, but in January Chief Financial Officer Cecile Cabanis said the Middle East has been “displaying significant growth.” LVMH did not reply to a request for comment on how its business may be impacted by the conflict.
The Middle East has also attracted new investment from mass-market players. Budget fashion retailer Primark said in January that it plans to open three stores in Dubai in March, April and May, followed by stores in Bahrain and Qatar by the end of the year.
“Primark is set to open its first store in Dubai at the end of March but clearly this is a fast-moving situation which we are monitoring closely,” a spokesperson for Primark-owner Associated British Foods said.
Apple stores in Dubai will remain closed until Thursday morning, the company’s website showed, while Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M said its stores in Bahrain and Israel are closed.
Consumer goods group Reckitt has told all employees in the Middle East to work from home, temporarily closed its Bahrain manufacturing site and suspended all business travel to the region until further notice.
