2010-02-05

The European Commission yesterday adopted a series of recommendations to ensure that the budget deficit of Greece is brought below 3% of GDP by 2012, that the government timely implements a reform programme to restore the competitiveness of its economy and generally runs policies that take account of its long-term interest and the general interest of the euro area and of the European Union as a whole.

More specifically, the Commission adopted an opinion on the Greek Stability Programme for 2010- 2013, a Recommendation under Art 126(9) of the Treaty on the correction of the excessive deficit and a Recommendation under Art 121(4) of the Treaty onstructural reforms. The Commission also launched an infringement procedure to ensure the authorities comply with their duty to report reliable budgetary statistics.

It is the first time that the budgetary and economic surveillance instruments foreseen in the Treaty are used simultaneously and in an integrated way. The Commission shares the ambitious budget-deficit reduction targets that the Greek government has set itself as well as the fiscal measures and structural reforms announced in the stability programme.