Parliament's Budget Office

The Public Investment Program, including funds disbursed by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), pumped €11.2 billion into the economy, Alternate Finance Minister Nikos Papathanasis said Wednesday.

Compared to the outlays projected in the 2023 budget, there was a lag due mostly to lower RRF disbursements, €2.089 billion instead of the expected €3.662 billion.

The negative repercussions of the pandemic remain manageable in the short-term but the second wave of the pandemic intensifies the uncertainty and medium-term risks for the economy, the Parliament's Budget Office said in a report released on Tuesday.

Parliament's Budget Office (PBO) said on Thursday in its report for the fourth quarter of 2019 that the achievement of the primary surplus target of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product is secured, as the Greek economy has proved its resilience despite last year's significant tax breaks.

Handout talk and court decisions are threatening to drive the economy and the execution of the state budget off course, the Parliament's Budget Office warned in its report for the third quarter of 2018.

The general government primary surplus was up by 834 million euros in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2017, according to a report by the Parliament's Budget Office (PBO).

In the state budget, tax revenues posted an increase of 393 million euros and the revenues of the Public Investments Program rose by 355 million euros.

Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis decided on Wednesday not to renew the mandate of Panayiotis Liargovas, the coordinator of the Parliament's Budget Office (PBO). His term expired on November 30.

Liargovas had come under fire by the government for the criticism the PBO leveled against the Finance Ministry's policies on tax and growth this fall.

Greece ranked first out of 35 OECD countries in tax hikes last year, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the budget for 2018 will lead to an even greater tax burden that will stifle growth, the Parliament's Budget Office (PBO) warned on Thsurday.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos told Parliament during Monday's session on the "social dividend" that Greece will exit the bailout process without needing any further support as it is winning back market confidence.

The financial cost of the delays in the bailout review procedures could turn out to be greater that the possible benefits - that may also prove temporary - of a final agreement on the adjustment program, according to the quarterly report by the Parliament's Budget Office that was released on Friday.