EIRINI CHRYSOLORA

ESM to Athens: Contain support moves

Greece will need to save some fiscal space from this year in order to be able to use it for additional support measures in 2023, when the fiscal room will be very tight due to both the target for a return to primary surpluses and the sliding economy lowering growth rates or even leading to a slight recession, a senior European Stability Mechanism official said in Athens on Monday.

Klaus Regling: Return to primary surpluses

The adoption of a prudent fiscal policy, with a return to primary surpluses from 2023, and the continuation of reforms are considered the most important factors for the future of the Greek economy, European Stability Mechanism Managing Director Klaus Regling told Kathimerini.

15.09.2022 / 08:04

Lowering the 2023 primary surplus bar

The subsidies for electricity and natural gas bills are eating away at the targeted primary budget surplus of 1.1% of gross domestic product for 2023.

07.09.2022 / 22:37

Switching back to heating oil

The Finance Ministry plans to further reduce the electricity bills of those who cut their energy usage, while in the next few days it will announce incentives to boost the use of heating oil instead of electricity through the yearly subsidy.

06.09.2022 / 10:10

Government seeks to encourage return to heating oil

The government is finalizing its latest package of aid measures, which will be presented by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday, with the energy crisis being at the focus.

27.08.2022 / 18:05

BoG sees higher GDP growth

The Bank of Greece has upwardly revised growth predictions for 2022, though not to the level predicted by Swiss-based investment bank UBS.

26.08.2022 / 23:04

Income, VAT and property taxation boost budget

The definitive budget implementation data for the first seven months of the year that were released Thursday confirmed the existence of excess tax receipts, although, at €4.8 billion, the extra inflows are lower than the €5.1 billion estimate based on provisional figures.

25.08.2022 / 12:33

Greece’s price cushion tops EU

Among the 27 European Union member-states, as a percentage of gross domestic product, Greece spends the most on measures designed to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis, according to data by the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel published Wednesday by Bloomberg.

24.08.2022 / 23:30

Little room for extra government largesse

Finance Ministry officials say the need to pour more money into electricity subsidies will “drastically” limit funds available for other kinds of income support.

23.08.2022 / 11:01

Rise in energy prices leaves limited room for other types of support or tax cuts

The continuing steep rise in the price of natural gas, which reached €290 per megawatt-hours on Monday, is a major obstacle to the government’s spending plans for the rest of the year and the start of the next one.

22.08.2022 / 09:59

Top banker warns against backsliding

For Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, Greece’s emergence from close surveillance is a major achievement.

20.08.2022 / 13:13

Economy to grow 4% in 2022

With days left before Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ keynote speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair and the submission of a supplementary budget, the Ministry of Finance is increasingly convinced that economic growth in 2022 will reach 4% instead of the original estimate of 3.1%.

19.08.2022 / 14:51