'The worst is over' for Greece
Date May 6, 2013
Telegraph, London
Greece's crisis-hit economy is finally beginning to heal, the country's finance minister says, before a crucial report by the International Monetary Fund that is likely to be more positive than in the past.
The minister, Yannis Stournaras, said ''the worst is over'' and the country had ''reached the [bottom of the] trough''.
The IMF's health check on the Greek economy on Monday is expected to indicate that the country is turning the corner after six years of deep recession.
The IMF has praised improvements to Greece's much-maligned tax collection procedures, according to reports in the Greek media this weekend.
Mr Stournaras said attempts to fix the country's parlous public finances were starting to bear fruit, and could allow it to return to financial markets as early as next year.
Athens is on course to deliver a primary budget surplus - which does not take into account debt payments - a year ahead of schedule. He said the country had already pushed through two-thirds of the reform measures needed to address the huge holes in the nation's budget. Interest costs on Greece's massive debt pile have been sharply reduced by the debt restructuring the government has undertaken.
But any Greek recovery is likely to be slow. Unemployment is at 27 per cent, while Greece has debts of more than 150 per cent of GDP. The European Commission has forecast its economy will shrink 4.2 per cent this year.
