Christos Staikouras

By Derek Gatopoulos

Greece's will achieve better-than-expected budget figures in 2014 year but that unemployment would only decline slowly over the coming four years, the country's finance ministry said Wednesday.

Greece is set to obtain more debt relief from its international lenders after European officials confirmed on Wednesday that Athens had topped its fiscal targets and achieved a budget surplus in 2013.

By Sotiris Nikas

Eurostat is expected on Wednesday to ratify the 2013 primary budget surplus, which will serve as the trigger for the further lightening of the Greek debt. The announcement will be the focus of Thursday’s Euro Working Group along with the presentation of a new growth plan for the Greek economy aimed at changing conditions in the country.

 After recording a positive result in the 2013 budget by 3.38 bln euros, Athens expects lightening of debt

By Sotiris Nikas

Greece's central government posted a primary budget surplus, before interest payments, of 1.6 billion euros ($2.22 billion) in the first quarter, widening by more than three times from the same period last year, Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Monday.

By Prokopis Hatzinikolaou and Sotiris Nikas

The government has decided to use part of the so-called social dividend – i.e. 525 million euros from Greece’s 2013 primary surplus – to provide a large proportion of uninsured citizens with healthcare coverage.

By Sotiris Nikas

The Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday that it will be issuing short-term debt to cover the cash needs of the state by drawing on some 3 billion euros of cash reserves found lying unused in the coffers of various state agencies.