Greek Growth Can Only Be Stable If It Benefits All, Tsipras Says

(Bloomberg) -- Greece will definitively exit its economic crisis when its unemployment rate has converged with the rest of Europe, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday.

“Our fight against unemployment is our fight to restart the economy,” Tsipras said in a speech in Thessaloniki. The government aims to reverse the “brain drain” of talented young Greeks emigrating abroad, he said.

As Greece prepares to exit its bailout program next year, the country must avoid going back to the mistakes that bankrupted it, Tsipras said. Only economic growth that benefits all of society can be stable growth, he said.

Greece’s unemployment rate is the highest in the euro area, standing at 21.2 percent in June. The rate for the euro area as a whole was 9.1 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marcus Bensasson in Athens at mbensasson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net.