Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-14

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Second review must be completed without delay, Dombrovskis tells EuroParliament debate on Greece

[02] Primary surplus and revenue targets again surpassed in January, finance ministry reports

[03] Top court upholds suspended prison sentence, fine for former finance minister

[01] Second review must be completed without delay, Dombrovskis tells EuroParliament debate on Greece

"A staff level agreement should be within reach provided that all partners work actively towards bridging the remaining gaps," he added, noting that reforms in Greece were continuing and many prior actions required for the second review were close to adoption.

Reporting significant structural changes across all areas of Greece's economy, Dombrovskis especially highlighted progress in the establishment of an independent revenue agency and "the operationalisation of the new privatisation and investment fund, to name just two examples of big undertakings."

"Economic data now point to several positive points. Growth returned in the second half of the past year and is gathering pace. Indeed Greece has outperformed expectations in terms of GDP growth for 2016 and is expected to grow strongly this year by 2.7 pct, assuming of course that the programme remains on track," he said, adding that this was reflected in the European Commission's winter forecast published on Monday.

Unemployment, while decreasing, remained "unacceptably high" and was one challenge that must be closely monitored and addressed, he added.

Dombrovskis noted that Greece was estimated to substantially surpass its 2016 primary surplus target of 0.5 pct of GDP and was thus on track to meet its 2017 fiscal target primary surplus of 1.75 pct of GDP.

"This represents strong progress and shows that Greece has come a long way," he emphasised, while noting that implementation had always been the "Achilles' heel" of the Greek programmes and warning that there was no room for complacency.

He also pointed out, however, that Greek authorities had shown consistency under the ESM programme and adopted nearly 200 measures and sub-measures to comply with reform commitments since the August 2015 agreement. "This effort needs to be recognised," Dombrovskis said, pointing out that Greek authorities passed several important pieces of legislation through Parliament in November and December and that technical work necessary for the finalisation of the remaining elements has continued.

"Our structural reform support service has furthermore provided technical support in the design and implementation of many of these reforms, for example, in the areas of public administration, renewable energy, privatisation, revenue administration, bank governance and others. In general, cooperation with the Greek authorities has been constructive. With this in mind, it is crucial that all partners now live up to their commitments so that an overall policy package can be reached as soon as possible," he said.

"This is not the time to call our resolve into question or jeopardise the positive economic signals but to underpin confidence and help jobs, growth and investment to return to Greece," the Commission's vice-president added. He noted that the overall package should encompass programme conditionality, "including with a view to the IMF coming on board with an arrangement," and said the Commission will continue to work constructively "and urge our partners to do the same."

Dombrovskis also referred to the short-term debt relief measures approved by the ESM in December, noting that these "contribute significantly to contain growth financing needs and smooth the Greek debt obligation over the maturity horizon, but they are part of the broader package agreed in May 2016 whose further elaboration we will continue to support in line with the agreement reached."

"The Commission will continue to work actively and constructively to ensure that the second review is concluded as soon as possible and that a balanced agreement is reached," Dombrovskis concluding, urging all the parties involved to "show political will." "By keeping the programme on track, we will help to build on the current economic recovery in Greece, allowing it to return to sustainable growth and job creation," he said.

[02] Primary surplus and revenue targets again surpassed in January, finance ministry reports

Regular budget revenues also exceeded the monthly target by 325 million euros. Net state budget revenues reached 4.158 billion euros in January, exceeding the January target by 166 million euros, or 4.2 pct. The finance ministry said a detailed breakdown of the various categories of revenues will be given when the finalised figures are released. Net regular budget revenues were 4.041 billion euros, surpassing targets by 325 million euros or 8.7 pct.

Revenue returns totaled 314 million euros in January 2017, up 18 million from targets. Public Investment Programme revenue amounted to 117 million euros, down 159 million euros from targets.

State budget spending totaled 3.326 billion euros in January 2017, down 137 million from targets, while regular budget spending amounted to 3.299 billion euros, down 19 million from targets. Regular budget spending was up 107 million from the same period in 2016, while an additional 175 million euros was spent on payments to the EU.

Public Investment Programme spending was 27 million euros, down 118 million from targets.

[03] Top court upholds suspended prison sentence, fine for former finance minister

Each of them was also ordered to pay 20,000 euros in compensation to the State due to moral damage.

In the first trial in a lower court, the pair was convicted for not declaring in their wealth declaration Kourakou's bank deposit totaling 1,311,000 euros to HSBC's Switzerland branch. The bank account and deposit were revealed during the investigation into the so-called "Lagarde list", a spreadsheet containing roughly 2,000 potential tax evaders which is being investigated by authorities.

According to the court ruling, the initial deposit was made in 2000 when the bank account opened and remained there until 2010, when the money were repatriated in a bank account under the name of Kourakou's sons, from her first marriage.

Papantoniou and his wife have also been convicted for wealth declarations for years prior to 2009 and was handed smaller fines.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article