Ο Υπουργός Οικονομικών κ. Θεόδωρος Πελαγίδης ήταν σήμερα ομιλητής στην 45η Ετήσια Σύνοδο της Επιτροπής Ανώτερων Αξιωματούχων για τον Προϋπολογισμό (Committee of Senior Budget Officials 45th Annual Meeting), την οποία συνδιοργανώνουν ο Οργανισμός Οικονομικής Συνεργασίας και Ανάπτυξης (ΟΟΣΑ) και το Υπουργείο Οικονομικών στην Αθήνα.

 

Ακολουθεί το πλήρες κείμενο της ομιλίας του Υπουργού Οικονομικών, με θέμα «Δημοκρατία και… Προϋπολογισμός» (Democracy and the... Budget):

 

Dear Executives and Delegates, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning and Welcome!

 

I would like to make a broader introduction today before I focus on the main topic of the conference.

We are living in a period of tectonic changes. We are living in a period of extreme uncertainty. We are living in a period of multiple crises. Climate change, demographic decay, economic inequality, identity crisis and social polarization to name just a few of them. But above all, we are living in a period in which Democracy, Western Democracy (rule of law, bill of rights, independent institutions, checks and balances), is called into question.

 

We used to know that democracies are dying at the hands of men with guns.

Today Democracies may die in the hands of elected politicians! Authoritarian or illiberal democracies are also versions of a “democracy” but of a democracy in decay.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Athens, the global capital of Democracy, is the right place to reflect again on the cardinal importance of democratic values for the mankind. The right place for rethinking the way that societies organize their existence and the co-existence of their citizens.

Under the Attica’s magical light, under this unique blue sky, under the Parthenon, lies the place that true Democracy was born. Actually, it is because of them that Democracy was born here.

 

I believe that this is the right place to hold this conference. This is the place to get a broader inspiration regarding the critical issue of how a modern democracy organizes the economic relations of its citizens, which is how and how much a government should tax and spend. How to construct an efficient and fair budget that serves the common good that serves Democracy.

 

Dear OECD Executives,

Dear Delegates,

On behalf of the Hellenic Ministry of Finance, I am particularly honored to welcome you here today for the launch of the works of the 45th Annual Meeting of the OECD Committee of Senior Budget Officials.

 

This meeting is a milestone for our country. The previous OECD meeting hosted in Athens back in 2010, had found Greece in the middle of the economic crisis, facing a series of structural and fiscal issues. Today, 13 years later, I am proud to welcome you here, in a totally different fiscal environment. Having implemented many structural and fiscal reforms, we have managed to formulate a new, robust environment.

 

Greece is in the third year of implementing the presentational performance budgeting approach, providing the Parliament with a comprehensive insight of the budget. We are also presenting the budget under the second level of CoFoG classification at the General government level to enhance international reporting.

 

On the parallel, in the post pandemic era, where the energy crisis as well as the need to address broader environmental issues have arisen urgently, Greece has integrated the green aspect high in its reform agenda. A targeted green spending review has been run across the public sector and the green budgeting is gradually being integrated in our budget practices.

 

The OECD has accompanied us along this reform path and has significantly supported our Organization with technical expertise in implementing some of the most important recent reforms. The Public Management and Budgeting Division experts have provided our team assistance with introducing performance budgeting and green budgeting, as well as with further developing our spending review strategy.

 

Dear OECD Executives,

Dear Delegates,

We thank you for all this help over the difficult years. We sincerely feel that in this success you also have a large share.

 

The Committee of Senior Budget Officials is a unique public finance forum where practitioners can exchange best practices and learn from the experience of peers. I would like to address my special thanks to the OECD team for the organization of the 45th Annual Meeting of the Committee in Greece and wish you a fruitful exchange of views for the next two days.