Eurozone crisis

Greece proceeded on Friday with the early repayment of two installments of bilateral loans, as it had long planned, almost halving its financing needs for the next two years, while deflating the cushion of cash reserves, which was designed to decrease after the recovery of investment grade.

One of the key figures that captured the hardship of the decade-long economic crisis in Greece was the unemployment rate, which peaked at 28 percent in the summer of 2013. Today, the latest statistics show that Greece's unemployment rate has fallen below 10 percent for the first time since the onset of the crisis.

The Greek economy grew by 2.1% in the third quarter of 2023 compared with the same period last year, with the country's GDP rising by 0.02% between the third and second quarter of 2023, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Wednesday.

Greece will next month repay ahead of schedule 5.3 billion euros ($5.8 billion) of loans owed to eurozone countries under its first bailout, and hopes to repeat the move in 2024, Finance Ministry officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

On Tuesday Prime Minister Mitsotakis highlighted to German Chanellor Olaf Scholz that Greece has the fastest rate of debt reduction in the world. From around 206% of GDP in 2020, Greek debt is expected to decline this year to around 160% of GDP, and this downward trajectory is expected to continue throughout the decade.

The European Commission sees Greece's economic growth at 2.4% in 2023 and 2.2% until 2025, above the eurozone and EU average, in its fall economic forecasts released on Wednesday, pointing out that this growth is supported by the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and a resilient labor market.

Demand for a 20% stake in Greece's National Bank (NBG) held by the country's bank bailout fund was covered by more than six times on Tuesday, in the first day of a book-building process which ends later this week, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

"Demand covered 6.2 times the shares offered," the source involved in the process said on condition of anonymity.

Greece's economy is expected to expand by 2.5% this year due to strong domestic demand, investments and EU funds, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

Growth will slow down to 2.0% next year, the fund said in staff concluding statement.

[Reuters]

The European economy witnessed a troubling slowdown in the third quarter, with the eurozone facing a 0.1% contraction and the wider EU stagnating, revealed a preliminary report by Eurostat.

The European Union's new fiscal rules should ensure both fiscal discipline and economic growth, while considering countries with high defense spending, noted Greek National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on Thursday.