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Ministry of Finance announced additional increase in excise duties on cigarettes and alcohol, higher than that stipulated in the original 2010 budget plan . Indirect tax will increase to 30% compared to its value in 2009. As a result the rise in the end price of a pack of cigarettes in Greece will increase by 0,5 to 1.5 euros depending on the quality and class of relevant tobacco. According to experts this additional increase will bring to the public treasury around 500-600 million.

The final goal is at the end of the year the government PASOK to bring down its high public deficit from 12.7 percent of GDP at this moment to the desired 8.7% of GDP. In accordance with the three years plan (until 2012), which is grounded on the Greek Stability and Development Program , this item should reach 2.7% -3% of GDP - a reasonable value for country in the Eurozone . Another measure of fund savings that the government has decided to launch is to reduce the values of the supplements to wages of civil servants by 10%. In this way the state will save about 400 million euros by the end of this year.  The Ministry of Finance has estimated that the increase in indirect taxes and reducing the cost of additives the government accumulates about one million euro for the year 2010.

The Minister of Finance - George Papakonstantinou stated for Bloomberg TV explicitly that Greece does not need help in reducing the government deficit and public debt of the country. He assured that Greek government is ready to take all necessary measures to manage the current economic crisis with the support of the population. In connection with the approvement of the Greek Stability and Development Program by the financial experts of the European Commission at the end of this month, Papakonstantinu said: "All countries with large budget deficits follow the same procedure; we are not the only ones who work and discuss their Stability and Development Program with the experts from the European Commission. The problem of Greece is not the amount of the budget deficit or the value of public debt . The problem is lack of public confidence in our country. "

Currently, representatives of the European Committee on Economic Affairs are in Athens on a three-day working visit. Aims of this visit are to be specified and approved with the Greek government officials the goals and methods of implementation, which will form the three-year Stability and Development Program.