–Petros Christodoulou Cites Presssing Business In Greece
–EU Commissioner Rehn Says Greece On Course For 4% Deficit Cut In 2010
–Eurostat Chief Not Informed Greek Use Of Swaps To Cut Deficit

LONDON (MNI) – Greek debt agency chief Petros Christodoulou has
postponed an appearance in front of the Economic Committee of the
European Parliament, citing pressing business in his own country.

The hearing will take evidence from EU Economic and Monetary
Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and Goldman Sachs Bank Chairman Gerald
Corrigan on the Greek fiscal crisis and lessons from it.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said that
Greece had shown the need for reinforced economic policy surveillance
as well the need to establish a “permanent crisis resolution mechanism”.

Rehn told the committee, however, that the crisis resolution tool
should be seen only as a ‘last resort’ and the terms of its aid would
therefore have to be made unattractive.

Rehn said that the Commission and the European Central Bank and the
International Monetary Fund were working ‘excellently’ on resolving the
Greek situation. Greece remains on course to achieve the 4% of GDP
reduction in its budget deficit which it has targeted for this year.

Rehn said that Greece had shown the need for the enforcement of the
Stability and Growth pact to be given teeth. The pact provided a ‘solid’
set of rules, he said, on member states’ public finances but the problem
was always securing compliance.

The commissioner said that the Commission had already had a ‘good
exchange of views’ today on the need for reinforced surveillance of
economic policies and said that it is recognised that surveillance
should extend to macroeconomic imbalances within the euro zone and go
beyond budgetary imbalances.

Director General of Eurostat Walter Radermacher told the committee
that the EU stats agency had already undertaken visits to Greece during
2010. Its work with the statistical authorities in Greece to improve the
quality of public finance reporting in the country.

Radermacher said that Greece had failed to report the use of
derivative instruments and said that these had been used to
‘artificially’ reduce the value of the Greek budget deficit. Goldman
chief Corrigan is likely to shed more light on the Greek use of
derivatives when he speaks to the committee later this afternoon.

–London newsroom: 00 44 20 7862 7494; email: dthomas@marketnews.com

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