Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-05-05
CONTENTS
[01] Almunia satisfied with Greek fiscal progress
[01] Almunia satisfied with Greek fiscal progress
EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Friday expressed his satisfaction
for efforts made by the Greek government to reduce the country's fiscal
deficit, saying Greek authorities have fully cooperated with the
European Commission's recommendations on reducing excessive deficit.
Speaking to reporters after a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, Almunia
stressed that a Commission's spring report on the economic outlook of
member-states in the period 2006-2007 would underline that the Greek
economy was moving towards the right direction. The EU Commissioner
stressed that the Commission would also note that efforts to stabilise
deficits will not end in 2006 but they must continue in 2007.
"In the medium-term, efforts to stabilise the Greek economy should
continue through structural changes, necessary to ensure the
sustainability of the country's fiscal situation," he noted.
Almunia said that a group of Eurostat's experts would visit Greece in
the coming weeks for talks with the country's National Statistics
Service (NSS) over a new methodology to evaluate the fiscal situation
of municipalities and pension funds in Greece. The EU Commissioner said
Greece's statistical gathering methods faced certain problems that have
to be resolved through structural improvements.
An ANA-MPA file photo of Almunia. / P. Papaioannou
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