In November 2009, Athens disclosed a significant rise in its public deficit that finally led to a financial crisis across the eurozone and…
Greece on Saturday completed 12 years of European Union fiscal control that was levied in exchange for bailouts after a suppressing debt crisis.
In November 2009, Athens disclosed a significant rise in its public deficit that finally led to a financial crisis across the eurozone and had a negative effect on Greek finances for a decade.
In return for bailout cash of 289 billion euros and to prevent Greece from dozing off the Eurozone, a troika, made up of the International Monetary Fund, the EU, and the European Central Bank, asked for major reforms from Athens.
These comprise deep state spending and salary cuts, tax hikes, privatisations, and other broad reforms focused on righting public finances. The economy shuddered in several quarters, unemployment fell to at least 28%, and skilled professionals were left in droves.
“A cycle of 12 years which gave pain to citizens, caused economic stagnation and separated society” has come to an end, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. “A new perception filled with growth, unity, and prosperity arrives for all,” he said. “The Greece of today is a different Greece,” he added.
“We have seen strong growth and a sharp slide in unemployment of three percent since the previous year and five percent since 2019,” he said. Finishing the control will strengthen Greece’s international economic position by raising its attractiveness to investors.
Athens will also now have greater control over its domestic economic policy. Nonetheless, Greece, like other bailed-out European Union members like Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, and Ireland, will be watched by creditors as it repays its debts.
In Greece’s situation, that will take another two generations, with the previous loans due for compensation in 2070. According to European Commission projections, the Greek economy will expand by 4 percent this year, much larger than the Eurozone average of 2.6 percent.
However, Greece’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the monetary union, its minimum wage is among the lowest, and the country’s debt is 180 percent of GDP.
