By N. Bellos
[email protected]
The European Commission on Monday revised, upwards, its forecasts for Greek economic growth in 2016, while confirming that the recovery will continue in 2017 -- but under the condition that the currently delayed second review of the Greek program will soon conclude.
Specifically, the Commission's winter report includes an estimate of a 0.3-percent GDP growth for 2016, whereas the previous report in November 2016 predicted the year would close with a decrease of 0.3 percent.
The Commission more-or-less echoes European creditors, and the Greek government, in forecasting economic growth of 2.7 percent this year; jumping to the impressive, by Greek standards, GDP growth of 3.1 percent in 2018.
The deficit in 2016 is gauged at hovering at -1.1 percent of GDP, as opposed to a 2.5-percent deficit, as a percentage of GDP, that it predicted last autumn. The deficit for 2017 will also touch on the -1.1 percent figure; with 2018 expected to post a 0.7-percent budget surplus.
The Commission measured Greece's debt at 179.7 percent of GDP in 2016; dropping to 177.2 and 170.6 percent for 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Unemployment decreased in 2016 to a still alarming 23.4 percent, with a continuing decrease for 2017, expected to ease to 22 percent.
