BRUSSELS (MNI) – There is no need for Greece to take additional
measures to cut its budget deficit because its current austerity plan is
adequate, a European Commission spokesman said on Monday, denying
reports in the Greek press.
Over the weekend some Greek media reported that European
Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, was planning
to travel to Greece later this month to ask for additional austerity
measures. Rehn’s spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, told reporters that
the Commission “doesn’t foresee any visit” by Rehn.
Greece has the largest budget deficit in the Eurozone at more than
four times the EU’s stipulated limit. Earlier this year it asked the
European Union and the International Monetary Fund for aid and was given
a loan package worth up to E110 billion over three years in exchange for
implementing a strict austerity plan.
Tardio said that the Greek government has a plan in place and that
the Commission doesn’t foresee any changes to that plan.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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