Greece’s creditors have expressed their concern regarding the country’s primary budget surplus goal, which may not be met this year, according to German magazine Der Spiegel.
The country’s former New Democracy-led government had set a target to achieve a primary surplus of 3.0% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015. However, an anonymous official told Der Spiegel that the former government’s promise would probably not be fulfilled. Greece’s financial situation has worsened since January due to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ lack of reforms.
Meanwhile, there are also reports suggesting that Greece’s funding gap has grown over the last year, reaching 20 billion euros.
At the moment, the Brussels Group is examining the Greek government’s reforms list, while the country has pledged to produce a small budget surplus in order to unlock the next aid program installment. According to Der Spiegel, the list estimates a primary budget surplus reaching 1.5%, below the target requested by the country’s creditors.
Meanwhile, the Greek Finance Ministry revised last year’s primary budget surplus, which had been estimated by the former conservative government at 1.5%. The new estimate stands at 0.3%, based on preliminary data, and mainly to a 3.9-billion-euro shortfall in state revenue last year.
Government Vice President Giannis Dragasakis stated to Chinese Xinhua news agency that Greece is planning on selling its majority stake in Piraeus’ port.
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