4 February 2010 / AP, BRUSSELS
The EU’s top economy official said Wednesday that Greece’s plan to shrink a massive budget gap over the next four years is “achievable” but “not easy.”
The European Commission warned Wednesday that Greece will have to do far more than it is currently planning to curb its public finances in the longer-term, to reform tax collection and improve the way it keeps accounts. EU Economy Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said EU officials would carefully monitor Greece’s efforts and “will ask the Greek authorities to make additional measures” if it isn’t on track to reduce a budget deficit from 12.7 percent last year to 2 percent of economic output by 2012. Greece’s debt crisis has alarmed bond markets and rocked the credibility of the European Union’s shared currency -- causing the euro to slide against the US dollar in recent weeks and Greece to pay higher spreads on borrowing as investors see more risk that it could default.
The Greek stock market reacted positively to EU support for the Greek budget, with the general index up 1.42 percent in early afternoon trading.
