2023-12-18 01:44:05
December 17, 2023
This Sunday, Greece approved its 2024 budget, forecasting an increase in economic growth to 2.9% from 2.4% this year.
The increase would come as a result of strong tourism revenues and EU funds helping investment.
The budget was approved with 158 votes in favor, which represents the majority of the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a chamber of 300 seats.
Athens will aim for a primary budget surplus, which excludes debt service costs, of 2.1% of GDP in 2024, down from a surplus of 1.1% this year.
Greece, the euro zone’s most indebted nation, has recovered strongly since emerging from international bailouts worth more than €260 billion in 2018, marking the end of a decade-long debt crisis.
The country, which regained its investment grade status in 2023 after 13 years, needs to maintain primary budget surpluses to ensure its debt is sustainable.
Greek GDP grew 8.4% and 5.9% in 2021 and 2022, respectively, while debt fell 35 percentage points in the last two years (from 206% during the pandemic to 171% of GDP last year).
Precisely, as proof of its improvement, last Friday Greece early repaid loans for a total of 5,290 million euros, which would not have matured until 2024 and 2025.
These are loans granted in 2010 by other States of the European Union (EU), within the framework of the first financial rescue decided to avoid the country’s insolvency. Last year, Athens also repaid all of its debt to the IMF early, almost two years ahead of schedule.
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