Jan Strupczewski
reuters.com
October 25, 2012
Euro zone officials are expected to press ahead on Thursday with plans to give Athens two more years to meet its budget goals as well as examine ways of closing the yawning gap in Greece’s finances.
Representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank — known as the troika — have been calculating how much more money Athens will need if it is given until 2016 rather than 2014 to reach a primary surplus of 4.5 percent, as agreed in February.
A primary surplus or deficit is the budget balance before the government services its debt. In Greece’s case, it would mean government tax revenues exceeding spending, meaning Athens is beginning to get on top of its budget-deficit problems.
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