Greek PM Alexis Tsipras called on all the social partners in the economy to take part in a dialogue to restore the good relationships in the labour market. Addressing the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), Tsipras underlined the need to avoid mistakes and delays made during the first review of the Greek adjustment program when the second review was scheduled.

The Greek PM urged all pro-European forces to enter a dialogue on the causes that lead to the current economic and political crisis in the continent. ‘Only if we agree that we are in the middle of a political crisis and talk in a sober way about the reasons will we be able to look to the future’, said Tsipras. He claimed the core reason for the political crisis was the failing European economy and the strategy that dominated for addressing the economic crisis.

The Greek PM made reference to the need for a common European industrial policy in order to steer clear of institutional disparities. ‘Structural inequalities consolidate wage divergence, the dualisms between the north and the south and finally, structural inequities when a crisis emerges’, said Tsipras. Commenting on the prospect of a ‘Brexit’, Tsipras said it would be a negative outcome. The Greek PM made it clear during his speech that his government did not intend to implement neo-liberal policies in the market, arguing that the regulations in the labour market were not excessive, as some claimed.