ATHENS: Greece significantly shrunk its deficit in 2014 but stopped short of expectations, according to data released Tuesday, as the crisis-battered country is locked in bailout negotiations with its international creditors.
Athens is trying to pull together a list of credible reforms and cost-cutting measures in return for urgently needed bailout funding, with loan repayment deadlines looming. Eurozone finance ministers are due to review progress at talks in Riga later this week.
The country whittled its overall deficit down to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2014, from 12.3 per cent the year before, the EU‘s statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday. But the commission, the European Union‘s executive, had predicted an even lower rate of 2.5 per cent. Greece has until 2016 to bring its deficit in line with the EU-mandated limit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Interest on debt has previously accounted for a large share of Greece‘s deficit. The country has the EU‘s highest debt levels, at 177 per cent of GDP according to Eurostat, which published its 2014 debt and deficit figures for the EU‘s 28 member states on Tuesday. Overall eurozone deficit stood at 2.4 per cent in 2014, down from 2.9 per cent the previous year, the data showed. The EU-wide deficit figure was 2.9 per cent in 2014.
