After years of false reporting, new Greek stats chief promises clean financial data

New Greek statistics chief promises clean data

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s new statistics agency chief promised swift reforms Thursday that would produce reliable financial data free from government interference.

Former IMF official Andreas Georgiou took up his post Thursday heading the statistics agency that had been widely discredited last year after the Socialist government that came to power in October revealed that budget data had been embellished.

The agency now has been placed under parliamentary oversight and not under direct government control.

Serious errors in Greek deficit data, revealed last year, helped trigger the European government debt crisis rattled world markets and confidence in the euro.

“When there is a deadline, it must be met. We must reach the highest standard … There can be no flexibility on this point,” Georgiou said.

Creating an independent agency — renamed as the Hellenic Statistical Authority — was a key step, along with painful austerity measures, for Greece to be granted euro110 billion in rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other European Union countries that use the euro.

Greece narrowly avoided bankruptcy in May before it began receiving the loans.

The gravity of Greece’s debt woes was revealed last October, when the new Socialist government abruptly increased the deficit projection from 3.7 percent of GDP to 12.5 percent — stunning EU partners and markets. That projection was later raised to 13.6 percent of GDP.

The European Union blamed government interference and shoddy accounting practices for the massive errors, which saw Greece shoot four times above the deficit cap set for the eurozone.

The government has promised to work closer with the EU statistics agency, Eurostat, to produce reliable data. Georgiou said the Greek agency required a “shift in mentality” to overcome prevailing negative perceptions and achieve a higher standard.

“We face a great responsibility, because problems with statistical data can have negative consequences for the national economy. We must never let this happen again,” Georgiou told an audience of about 200 employees. “We must overcome the negative perception about Greek statistics … Our ascent will not be quick but it will be achieved.”

The employees, who remain civil servants, later held a meeting to discuss salary and pension cuts imposed by the government.

Separately, the country’s debt management agency said Thursday that Greece had accepted an additional euro450 million ($580 million) for a 13-week treasury bill auction, bringing the total raised from Tuesday’s auction to euro2.4 billion ($3 billion).

The auction was oversubscribed by 3.85 times at an interest rate of 4.05 percent.

The sale came a week after Greece tapped the market for the first time since receiving joint EU and IMF rescue loans, selling euro1.625 billion in 26-week bills at a 4.65 percent yield.