Staikouras welcomes Lagarde view on ‘excessive’ primary surplus target
Finance Minister Christos Staikouras welcomed on Wednesday the acknowledgement by Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank’s likely next president, that Greece's primary surplus target is excessive and puts too much pressure on the recovery of the economy.
“It appears that a positive dynamic is being created towards the desired direction by leading circles of the institutions,” he said in statement.
He reiterated that governing New Democracy's main aim is to reduce the 3.5 percent target agreed by the previous SYRIZA administration.
Lagarde, who has been nominated to succeed Mario Draghi from November 1, told the European Parliament’s committee on economic affairs that the target should be “carefully reviewed.”
