The abolishment of capital controls in Greece "is the last step in a process that had neared completion before general elections" in July, former Finance minister and SYRIZA MP Euclid Tsakalotos said on Monday in parliament.
He added that the timetable worked out by the then leadership of the Finance Ministry with the aid of the Bank of Greece included three pillars, of which only the last stage of the third pillar was outstanding. "The only reason controls were not fully lifted was hesitation by the Greek banks due to the political uncertainty of elections," Tsakalotos said, to conclude that "in any case, it is a positive outcome, fully prepared by Syriza."
Criticizing the ruling party, the main opposition deputy said that "it's good that New Democracy (ND) can resort to already-prepared policies, as it appears that its own initiatives in economic policy are slow to come. Of course, in ND's case, lacking its own economic policies seems to be better than having one."
Capital controls were imposed in July 2015.