The EU's executive may take legal steps against Greece for violating accounting rules that led it to sharply underestimate budget deficits, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Mr Joaquin Almunia said today.
The EU's statistics agency, Eurostat, revised upwards its estimates for Athens's budget deficits, showing that from 2000 to 2003 they topped the EU's limit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product each year, including 2001 when Greece joined the euro.
Echoing concern expressed by European Central Bank President Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, Mr Almunia said accurate data were of vital importance and expressed deep concerns about the revisions.
"The revisions are of a size and scope that is causing real worries to the Commission," Mr Almunia said, adding that Eurostat would now consider whether legal steps should be taken against Greece for not following standard national accounting rules.
Eurostat will also send a new fact-finding mission to Greece to verify the budget deficit figures before year 2000.
The new data revised the Greek 2000 deficit to 4.1 per cent from a prior estimate of 2 per cent. The 2001 and 2002 deficits now stand at 3.7 per cent compared with 1.4 per cent previously. The 2003 deficit, which had already been revised up in May to 3.2 per cent from 1.7 per cent , is now shown to be even higher - at 4.6 per cent of GDP.
Budget disciplinary action was launched against Athens after the first revision to the 2003 deficit data but the latest round of revisions have provoked particularly strong criticism from top euro zone policymakers.
Mr Trichet said today that Greece had a big problem with its budget data and needs to do more to ensure their accuracy. "We have to be sure that the figures, which are presented, are reliable and pertinent," he told the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.