Greek partners in the eurozone have taken control of the budgetary sovereignty of the country. They have informed Athens that it must convince them within 30 days that it will successfully reduce budgetary spending.
Doubting that the announced Greek measures will patch the huge holes in the budget, European finance ministers are preparing radical new measures to cut spending and raise taxes that will be imposed on Greece based on recently agreed voting regulations in the European Union. If we notice that certain risks begin to materialize, the Greek government has agreed to take additional measures to prevent further growth of the budget deficit, said the president of the eurozone, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. However, Athens has agreed to implement new proposals and cut the budget deficit if it does not convince its partners of its own measures in the next month.
Additional measures should focus on cutting spending but also include measures to increase budget revenues, which could involve raising VAT and introducing additional excise duties on luxury goods, including private cars, Juncker explained. We will have to decide on the eventual establishment of a eurozone fund modeled after the IMF. “This will certainly be discussed as a form of protection,” said German Finance Minister Steffen Kampeter. (www.hrt.hr)
