Greece has made a notable effort to implement its reforms, according to a European Commission report on the course of reforms, titled "Market Reforms at Work in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece," published yesterday (22.09). "Greece has made significant efforts to improve its business environment and continues to do so but monitoring the implementation and actual take-up of reforms is difficult due to a lack of data.

The introduction of an electronic registry to simplify the creation of new businesses and the introduction of a new form of limited liability corporation that has no capital requirement may have helped Greece rise 110 places to 36th out of 189 in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, the biggest improvement of any country between July 2012 and June 2013. There is also evidence to suggest that Greece’s efforts to liberalise its heavily protected professions have made some headway. But there is still much work to be done." 

And though labor reforms have resulted in a 9% increase in Greece’s labour productivity, the Commission warns that there is no margin for complacency, as now that the market pressures have eased, countries such as Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy will have to remain entirely focused on applying a decisive reform agenda.

Echoing the EC report, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that Greece has made significant progress in fiscal consolidation and structural reforms while addressing the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels yesterday (22.09). He acknowledged that this progress was recognised also by markets which offered capital to Greece.

He noted that markets were based on the precondition that Greece will continue a reform effort and everything included in the current programme. Draghi said that all countries must take advantage of this particular period to continued their effort drive.

More information: Market Reforms at Work in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece 5/2014