ECONOMY

Commission backs former ELSTAT chief, issue to be discussed at next Eurogroup

Commission backs former ELSTAT chief, issue to be discussed at next Eurogroup

EU Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici fully supported the position of the European Commission regarding data on Greece’s deficit in 2009 provided by ELSTAT, the country’s statistical authority, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said on Monday.

ELSTAT’s former chief, Andreas Georgiou, an ex-IMF statistician who led the Greek agency from 2010 to 2015, is accused of exaggerating Greece’s public debt problems to help Greece’s creditors, including his former employer. He denies the accusations.

Meanwhile, the Commission maintains that the figures were “fully reliable and accurately reported.” 

The EU spokesman on Monday noted that the Commission had received a response from Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos regarding the issue and added that he believed the matter would be discussed in a Eurogroup meeting scheduled to take place on September 9.

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