Greece expected to get some breathing room

Europe has to grant Greece some fiscal flexibility as the crisis-hit country struggles to deal with both the coronavirus outbreak and the migration crisis, leading economists agree in comments made to Kathimerini. The government expects some good news in this direction next week, but will not be pushing for it.

Eurogroup chief Mario Centeno said last week that the European Union's Stability Pact allows for flexibility in cases of such unusual incidents that are beyond the control of governments, with the matter set to be discussed at the March 16 meeting of eurozone finance ministers.

Athens is expecting some leeway to handle the twin crisis without being suffocated by the tight limitations of a primary budget surplus target of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, as the negative developments of the last month are threatening to derail the administration's rebound...