Athens braces for disciplinary action from EU
Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou (right) and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet (left) are seen in a file photo. EU finance ministers are expected to take disciplinary action against Greece today, moving one notch up on the warning scale before a fine for failing to take action to rein in its deficit. Greek government sources told Kathimerini that Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, sent a letter to Papaconstantinou late last week that essentially instructed him to speed up the introduction of tax reforms, open up professions to competition and restrict public sector wage hikes to 2 percent, in line with inflation in the 16-member eurozone.
