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Shocking scale of Greek contraction revealed
Bank of Greece Governor George Provopoulos has revealed that the country's economy has shrunk by some 20% from 2008 to 2012, and expects to see GDP fall by a further 4.5% in 2013. Average joblessness stood at 24.5% in 2012 and is also expected to rise this year.
While Provopoulos claims that he expects recovery to begin in 2014, this contradicts what Barroso has to say about the European crisis being over. The beginnings of recovery are some way off, and far from certain.
The Governor has called for tax reform to ease the burden on Greek taxpayers.