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EU: Greece Deficit Revisions Purely Routine
BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Revisions to the Greek budget deficit are purely routine as part of the European Union's so-called excessive deficit procedure for countries which break the bloc's fiscal rules, a spokesman for the EU's executive arm said Tuesday.
"This is pretty routine," a spokesman for EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters. "There is no political manipulation, it is an accounting exercise."
According to figures released by Europe's statistics agency, Eurostat, earlier Tuesday, Greece's budget deficit equaled 10.5% of gross domestic product last year. That compares with a 9.4% deficit estimated by the government.
He added the Greek figures are reliable and praised the Greek government's privatization plan and budgetary reforms.
"This is a process that isn't just relevant to Greece, it affects all countries in excessive deficit procedure," he added. "There will be further discussions on this next week and next month... I don't want to speculate at this stage."
BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Revisions to the Greek budget deficit are purely routine as part of the European Union's so-called excessive deficit procedure for countries which break the bloc's fiscal rules, a spokesman for the EU's executive arm said Tuesday.
"This is pretty routine," a spokesman for EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters. "There is no political manipulation, it is an accounting exercise."
According to figures released by Europe's statistics agency, Eurostat, earlier Tuesday, Greece's budget deficit equaled 10.5% of gross domestic product last year. That compares with a 9.4% deficit estimated by the government.
He added the Greek figures are reliable and praised the Greek government's privatization plan and budgetary reforms.
"This is a process that isn't just relevant to Greece, it affects all countries in excessive deficit procedure," he added. "There will be further discussions on this next week and next month... I don't want to speculate at this stage."