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The European Commission fears of unpredictable events in Greece

05 July 2011 / 16:07:29  GRReporter
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The size of the foreign debt and the unpredictable twists in the country are the main concerns that make the European Commission doubt the future of Greece. Apparently, the Mediterranean temper, which the Greeks showed during the crisis and in implementing the measures for fiscal consolidation and structural reforms, convinced the European partners that nothing good will happen easily in the coming years.

The report the European Commission has prepared after the fourth assessment of the economic program of the troubled member state reads that in all cases, the Greek public debt would remain high for years, which could result in unpredictable adverse consequences. The lack of political will for change and the lack of consensus in parliament and society made the Europeans question the implementation of the privatization program, which should accumulate 50 billion euros by 2015. The funds it would provide should cover the obligations of the country while the government tries to zero the budget deficit.

The public debt would jump by 24 billion by the end of the year and its total amount would reach € 352.6 billion or 156.7% of the GDP. For comparison, at the end of 2010 its level was 142% of the GDP. The debt would continue to grow in 2012 and it is expected to reach € 376.1 billion or 161.3% of the GDP. Slight decline is expected in 2013 and in 2014 it should drop significantly, reaching 153% of the GDP at the end of the program for support.

Despite the efforts and the expected revenues from privatization which are not guaranteed, the level of the Greek foreign debt will remain high as it will be over 150% of the GDP. This is of serious concern for the European analysts, who note that the cost of borrowing from capital markets will remain high for long periods of time. An example of this is that the level of lending has increased rather than reduce since the beginning of the rescue program, which began in May 2010. The report also reads that the market skepticism is associated with doubts in the ability of the political governance and the society to continue along the path of economic recovery and competitiveness regaining.

The European Commission speaks for insufficient political coordination, which is the main reason for the delays in implementing the reforms and the recovery measures. The low performance of the Greek government made the Europeans propose the introduction of technical supervision in each key government institution not only to supervise the program, but to give technical support to carry out the necessary changes. "The strong technical support is essential to ensure strict implementation of the program and to solve issues related to productivity."
 
The Commission assessed that one of the biggest threats of failure of the austerity program lies in its potential application. The implementation of the integrated package of policies aimed at removing the barriers to the local economy and the public institutions involves considerable risks. There is particular skepticism in the way the fight against tax unfairness and blocking the abuse with social benefits are perceived.

The situation with the public revenue, where the differences between what was expected and what is implemented are great so far, is not optimistic either. The European Commission criticism is clear, namely that the collection of taxes is still lagging behind what was planned, even after the criteria reduction following the conclusions of the previous inspections. The costs of local government organizations, health care, ministerial and other public institutions budgets remain the weaknesses in the budget expenditure.
 
Meanwhile, the recession in 2011 will be higher than expected, reaching 3.8% instead of the anticipated 3.5%. There are some optimistic expectations for 2012 when the first swallow of the austerity plan could appear and Greece could register minimum economic growth of 0.6% of the GDP. The positive growth should reach 2.3% in 2013, and its value for 2014 is expected to be 2.7% of the GDP. However, economic growth will remain much lower than the growth rate of the foreign debt, which is another reason why the European Commission expects the Greek economy to work wonders.

Tags: EconomyMarketsForeign debtEuropean commissionGreeceCrisisTax unfairnessAusterity planRevenues
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