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Four Years of Memorandum in Greece

papandreou20kastelorizoFour years ago, on Friday April 23, 2010, the then Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou visited Kastelorizo, eastern Greece and announced that the country will have to resort to the supporting mechanism of the IMF and the EU.
From that day on, Greece has been suffering harsh austerity measures that have hit salaries, pensions, the labor market and the state’s social services.  Trade union GSEE estimates that within four years of the memorandum, purchasing power of the Greeks has fallen by 37.2%, one-third of the population now lives below the poverty threshold, unemployment has reached record rates, the GDP dropped by 25% and high taxation that reached 37 billion euros has affected mostly low-wage earners and low-income pensioners.
After the government announced austerity measures on May 2, 2010, Greeks saw their lives changing. The measures included cuts in wages, an increase in VAT from 21% to 23%, and the reduction of the minimum wage. The severe policy of the Greek government and the Troika continued as the recession deepened.
In 2011, the government announced further cuts in wages and pensions and introduced heavy taxation measures including a new property tax attached to electricity bills. On October 27, 2011, the summit of European leaders decided to cut the Greek debt by 50%, however austerity continued.
On February 13, 2012, Greece signed a second memorandum which included the reduction of the minimum wage by 22%, dismissals in public sector, cuts in social benefits and pensions and elimination of tax exemptions. On March 31, 2014, parliament passed the multi-bill that contains liberalization measures and the controversial milk reform.

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