general accounting office

An increase in state revenues last month has led to a rise in the handout to households known as "social dividend" by an extra 40 million euros, to 215 million.

Public spending is set to come under closer scrutiny as the Finance Ministry is making plans for all state expenditure to be carried out and screened online.

The government has committed itself to paying off all its expired dues to third parties by the end of 2020, with the exception of some special cases, whose repayment will be completed by end-2021, according to a detailed scheduled the Finance Ministry has sent to the country's creditors.

Transport staff in the Greek capital have called off further action after a breakthrough in talks with authorities.

Staff objections over a collective labor contract for this year were lifted following talks with the General Accounting Office.

After weeks of stoppages, transport staff are expected to call off any further action after a breakthrough in talks with authorities on Tuesday.
According to Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kostas A. Karamanlis, staff objections over a collective labor contract for this year have been addressed following consultations with the General Accounting Office.

Surprisingly high value-added tax takings boosted state revenues over the summer, taking the primary budget surplus of the year's first eight months to 2.9 billion euros, per the data the State General Accounting Office released on Wednesday, against a target for a primary deficit of 272 million euros.

Tax revenues in the year's first eight months exceeded their target by 468 million euros, according to budget figures published by the State General Accounting Office, allowing Deputy Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis to express his optimism that "the target for a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of GDP, which is our commitment, will be achieved."

The primary budget surplus for the year's first half was curtailed by the drop in revenues in June, according to figures published on Thursday by the State General Accounting Office.

Christos Staikouras, a former alternate economy minister under ND PM Antonis Samaras, will be Greece's new finance minister in the cabinet of incoming PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which was announced late this afternoon, less than 24 hours afte Mitsotakis' landslide victory, and veteran connservative MP Nilos Dendias will be Greece's new foreign minister.

State budget expenditure exceeded the target in the year's first five months. This was not because spending on the Public Investments Program went according to plan - it didn't - but rather due to the government handouts.