European debt crisis

Output in the construction sector of the EU, and in particular the Eurozone, rose steadily for the second month in a row since the start of 2023, while construction in Bulgaria fell, erasing a weak increase in January, Eurostat data showed.

Economic powerhouse Germany wants EU members to be given binding targets to slash their debts under new spending rules being prepared by Brussels, a document seen by AFP has showed.

In November, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, put forward plans to reform the Stability and Growth Pact that limits how much EU countries can borrow.

Greece achieved the second highest growth rate in the eurozone in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, according to data published by Eurostat on Wednesday.

Cyprus' gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6% in real terms in 2022, according to a provisional estimate published by the country's statistical service CyStat on Wednesday.

This compares with a provisionally estimated average eurozone GDP growth of 3.5% and European Union GDP growth of 3.6% in 2022.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) decided on Thursday to reduce to zero the step-up margin accrued by Greece for the period between June 17 and December 31, 2022, as part of the medium-term debt relief measures agreed for the country in 2018.

The value of this eighth reduction amounts to 122.5 million euros, it said in a statement.

The Eurozone economy will avoid recession this winter after growing by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to official data from the European Union's Statistics Agency.

The figure was lower than the 0.3% growth recorded in the third quarter of 2022, but better than economists' forecasts for a contraction.

Skroutz is taking another step toward becoming the "Greek Amazon," as its online shopping platform, Skroutz Marketplace, is now able to ship products to all eurozone countries. It will soon have an English version too.

At a single stroke on Tuesday, the Public Debt Management Agency managed to beat the volatility and pressures expected to be caused by the continued tightening of European Central Bank monetary policy and the national elections, and to cover 50% of the 2023 loan program with its first market foray of the year.

Christos Staikouras was named Finance Minister of the Year 2023 for Europe by The Banker magazine of the Financial Times group, whose awards celebrate the officials that have best managed to stimulate growth and stabilize their economy.

The European Central Bank confirmed on Thursday that it would end a long-running scheme to pour billions of euros into the Eurozone economy on July 1st by buying bonds and signaled a series of interest rate hikes as early as next month as it fights persistently high inflation.