16th Annual Meeting of Executives of Parliamentary Budget Offices

“It is not enough to tell the people what is right. We have to convince him that what we are telling him is already in his interest” emphasized the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Konstantinos Tasoulas, announcing the start of the work of the 16^her Annual Meeting of the Working Group of the executives of the Budget Offices of the Parliaments and of the Independent Fiscal Institutions of the OECD member countries, which takes place on his own initiative in the Senate room of the Greek Parliament.

Mr. K. Tasoulas, addressing the executives of the Budget Offices of the Parliaments from 37 countries, noted that “the great challenge is thanks to your own experience and thanks to our own courage and lack of fear of the political cost, to convince the people who they accept tones of populism on their senses, that it is popular for public finances to be in order so that we can face real needs, be ready for emergencies and not sacrifice tomorrow for the ephemeral needs of today”.

After pointing out that the electoral cycle does not go hand in hand with the economic cycle, the Speaker of the Parliament expressed the need for “programs, budgets, plans to acquire a longer-term horizon that should not be overturned so easily by the electoral cycle”.

Mr. K. Tasoulas finally noted that “fiscal discipline, long-term programs, managing finances benefit the people and the citizens”.

The Annual Meeting, attended by over 140 representatives from 37 countries, is co-organized by the State Office in the Hellenic Parliament, coordinated by Professor Ioannis Tsoukala, who is the head of the State Budget Office in the Parliament, and the Economic Cooperation Organization and Development (OECD).

At the Annual Meeting, the keynote speakers were also the Minister of National Economy and Finance Mr. Kostis Hatzidakis and the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis.

The General Secretary of the Parliament, Mr. Vasilios Bayiokos, also attended the proceedings.