| Author (Person) | Barber, Tony |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Financial Times |
| Series Details | 4.2.10 |
| Publication Date | 04/02/2010 |
| Content Type | News |
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The European Commission adopted a series of recommendations on the 3 February 2010 to ensure that the budget deficit of Greece is brought below 3% of GDP by 2012, that the government implements in a timely fashion a reform programme to restore the competitiveness of its economy and generally runs policies that take account of its long-term interest and the general interest of the euro area and of the European Union as a whole. More specifically, the Commission adopted an opinion on the Greek Stability Programme for 2010-2013, a Recommendation under Art 126(9) of the Treaty on the correction of the excessive deficit, a Recommendation under Art 121(4) of the Treaty on structural reforms and launched an infringement procedure to ensure the authorities comply with their duty to report reliable budgetary statistics. It is the first time that the budgetary and economic surveillance instruments foreseen in the Treaty are used simultaneously and in an integrated way. The Commission shares the ambitious budget-deficit reduction targets that the Greek government has set itself as well as the fiscal measures and structural reforms announced in the stability programme. The Commission also welcomes the announcement by the Greek government, on the 2 February 2010, of a set of additional fiscal measures (concerning the wage bill, excises on fuel and pension reform), to safeguard the budgetary targets set in the programme. The Commission calls on Greece to spell out the announced fiscal measures and implementation calendar in the coming weeks and welcomes its readiness to adopt and swiftly implement additional measures if needed. The fiscal measures to be implemented in 2011 and 2012 should also be further detailed. Implementation of all the measures, including the reforms to increase the competitiveness of the economy in the field of pensions, healthcare, public administration, the functioning of product markets, labour market, absorption of structural funds, supervision of the financial sector, and statistics, will be carefully monitored through regular reports to be sent to the Commission by Greece. |
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| Countries / Regions | Greece |
