In the euro area, in addition to the decline in dispersion of inflation, activity and labour cost developments, another key feature is that business cycles are converging and output gap fluctuations are becoming more similar across countries.
In a recent OECD study on the business sector, Greece, though not the worst performer, unfortunately ranks among the countries with most bureaucratic impediments: large number of licenses and certificates required from different authorities both in order to open a new business but also even when operating for years, big delays in issuing them, lengthy judicial procedures, retroactive tax controls, sometimes going back to more than 10 years etc.