Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis on Friday told lawmakers that he estimates a revenue target for 2016 will be surpassed by more than one billion euros, speaking during debate in Parliament on the draft 2017 budget.
Houliarakis said the recession was overturned in the second half of 2016, while saying GDP over the last trimester is on the level of 1.8 percent .
The alternate FinMin also said the spread on Greek bonds fell after the US presidential election.
In terms of the all-important negotiations with creditors, he said the IMF links its participation in the Greek bailout program with an advance implementation of austerity measures worth 4.5 billion euros for 2019. Additionally, he confirmed that the IMF does not believe the Greek economy can post 3.5-percent primary budget surpluses on an annual basis.
However, Houliarakis said the IMF's methodology in predicting Athens' future failure to meet the target led to its miscalculation for 2015 and 2016.
Additionally, he took aim at rival main opposition New Democracy's position for spending cuts, saying the 4.2 billion euros ND wants to cut from the state budget would cause a new recession.
