ATHENS, Oct 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Greece will spare its elderly further
pensions cuts in its 2019 budget, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said
Saturday, after receiving European Commission approval on the issue.
“The European Commission yesterday approved the 2019 Greek budget without
new pensions cuts after eight years of austerity,” Tsipras said.
Greece is looking forward to its first budget in a decade that does not
subject the country to a bailout, having exited austerity in August.
Tsipras had predicted in September that pensions cuts would not prove
necessary as he sought to hammer out a budget that would satisfy
international lenders.
Athens unveiled a larger primary budget surplus than expected in June and
then urged creditors to drop demands for further pension cuts in the belief
that such a measure would only hamper growth.
The Commission accepted as Greece looks solidly placed to reach the target
of a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of GDP next year and through to 2022 —
excepting debt servicing costs.
Saturday also saw Tsipras sworn in as foreign minister after Wednesday’s
resignation of Nikos Kotzias.
Kotzias quit after a cabinet clash with Defence Minister Panos Kammenos,
who opposes the Macedonia deal but is nevertheless a crucial coalition
partner for the Tsipras government.