European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia recommended at a news conference in Brussels yesterday ending the threat of disciplinary steps being taken against Greece over the country's excessive budget deficit. Greece cut spending in 2006 in order to reduce its budget deficit to below the 3 percent ceiling allowed by EU rules for the first time since the country joined the eurozone in 2001. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis called the development significant and said it is a decisive step in the country's real EU convergence. The announcement from Brussels is seen by many as opening the way for the conservative government to call elections soon as its four-year term in office winds up in March next year.