Athens (AFP)

Four years after the introduction of control of capital placed in banks, the Greek government announced Monday the next complete lifting of restrictions on capital movements, evidence he said of a return to "normal".

An amendment to end all restrictions from 1 September has been tabled by Finance Minister Christos Staïkouras.

"Four years after its introduction, capital control is coming to an end," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Parliament.

This is "an important step in the normalization of the Greek economy", which "will strengthen growth," said the Minister of Finance.

Capital controls had gradually been eased in recent years by Alexis Tsipras 'previous radical left-wing government after the recovery of the Greek economy, which enabled the country to exit creditors' aid programs in August 2018. .

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the New Democracy Party (right), took the opportunity to accuse his predecessor of leading a "catastrophic policy".

He recalled that the control of capital was imposed at the end of June 2015, during the standoff between the government of Alexis Tsipras to the EU and the IMF, creditors of the country. The measure was then intended to ward off bank panic and capital flight abroad.

At the time, Alexis Tsipras, leader in Europe from a radical left party, tried unsuccessfully to loosen the grip of austerity.

Under pressure from creditors, he had been forced to turn around: he had then got rid of his controversial finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, and his successor, Euclide Tsakalotos, complied with the new package of austerity measures. exchange of the granting of a third loan to the country.

- "Optimism" and "confidence" -

Elected a month and a half ago, after four years left in power, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that "political change has restored confidence in the country's economy and banking system".

"Finally, a cycle of insecurity of four years is closing (...) and in spite of the difficult international situation, a new cycle of optimism opens for the economy and the banking system of our country", has it -he assures.

"In cooperation with the Bank of Greece, we are holding our election pledge earlier than planned: to remove the control of capital," he added.

Euclid Tsakalotos retorted that the lifting of the control of the capital was already programmed but that it had been postponed due to "the hesitation of the banks due to the political uncertainty of the elections" of July.

On several occasions, the eurozone had congratulated the previous government for fulfilling its commitments on the cleansing of the economy, and hoped that the new government would continue on the same path.

The country remains under the supervision of its creditors. Among Greece's commitments are the achievement of high primary budget surpluses, at 3.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the coming years.

But Kyriakos Mitsotakis wants to convince member countries of the euro area to allow it to reduce this rate of primary surplus to promote growth.

Last week, he began a tour of the capitals of the euro area, with a first stop in Paris, where he met with President Emmanuel Macron.

The Greek Prime Minister has called on French investors to "seize the opportunities" that Greece offers with its new government.

To boost growth, he pledged to present in September "a tax reform, which plans to reduce the corporate tax by 28 to 24%" for "2019, then 20% from 2021", and than a reduction in the tax on dividends.

© 2019 AFP