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I am asking you about the September report of the creditors, because it will determine whether Greece will receive the next tranche of the aid of 31 billion euro.

From now on, the aid to Greece as well as the managing of the debt crisis both here and in Europe will be a political process rather than a decision of a technocratic basis. This means that the granting or the cancellation of the aid to Greece will be based on political decisions.

Does this mean that the German economy minister Philipp Roesler relies on populist tricks, when pushing to terminate the aid to Greece if it failed to fully meet its obligations under the Memorandum?

I do not know if it could be called populism, but this position expresses the internal political mood in Germany rather than the real situation. The issue of the Greek crisis is much more serious than many people think. It is not because it is about Greece itself, but because it relates to the way in which Europe intends to address the European debt crisis.

So far, the European Union has been looking on, watching and assessing. Until recently, there was no direct intervention with which to establish a mechanism for the management of the debt crisis. There was no protection for the Italian, Spanish and even German bonds. The longer this process is delayed, the more serious the problem in Europe.

What do you think are the measures that Brussels should take to protect the interests of Europe?

A real involvement of the European Central Bank in the secondary bond market could have solved the problem.

This happened to a certain extent in recent years, mainly with the Greek government bonds after the introduction of the Memorandum of financial aid.

The interference was negligible. Financial markets were never assured that a specialized body, whether the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) or the European Central Bank, would take measures to protect the Portuguese, Spanish and Italian bonds. The markets saw a pretty cool position of the European Union against the speculative attacks over the bond market.

Leaders have made the first step by proposing unification of the fiscal policy in the euro zone. They suggested that the European Central Bank should take over the supervision of the financial systems of the countries of the monetary union. How would you assess this development?

The single economic community that we want to establish in Europe implies the unification of financial policies. Therefore, unified supervision of banks should be established. As we have seen so far, giving a financial aid following a decision taken by the leaders during summits suggests the introduction of a single economic control. This process, however, will take some time to be put into practice. The system cannot change overnight. In other words, decisions of this type are important, but we cannot expect immediate results.

Let’s go back to the Greek issue. What do you think are the immediate measures to be taken in order for the country to be on the right tracks?

Greece needs a plan to establish economic growth. This is our biggest problem at present. We also need to find the right formula to attract foreign investment. The combination of these two conditions will help us to stop the recession and make things work for us.

Another big problem that needs to be addressed is the bank issue. The recession will increase if there is no cash and bank funding for the real business.

Greece's budget deficit remains very large. Before we talk about a plan to stimulate economic growth, shouldn’t we do something about reducing costs?

The deficit is directly dependent on the recession, because it reduces the effect of budget cuts and affects the GDP negatively. The recession makes it even more painful for the government to rescue the public finances.

You are talking about attracting investment and economic growth, but Greece is known for its cumbersome and inefficient tax system. What should be done to change it?

It is what we have been repeating for years. The tax system should be simplified. The same applies to the administrative procedures relating to the real business.

The increased tax burden on the private sector in Greece is a fact. The former government made a fundamental error. It dramatically increased the taxes but did not reduce proportionally the costs in the public sector. More importance should have been given to cuts in budget spending in order for the private initiative to able to function more effectively.

Do you think that the tripartite coalition with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is ready to cut government spending adequately?

If he wants to succeed, he should do it. Otherwise, the chances of success of this government are very small.

How do you assess the sale of the Agricultural Bank (ATEbank)? This was the first major privatization of the present government.

The state had to find 4.5 billion euro for recapitalization in order for the Agricultural Bank to continue to exist. It was impossible at that time. Any measure that is associated with the healing of the local banking system, improving its functioning and with the improvement of the financial condition of the banks is a positive step.