11 January 2010 - 16H57
AFP - The International Monetary Fund said Monday it is sending a mission to Athens this week for talks on helping debt-stricken Greece overcome its financial crisis.
The mission, at the request of the Greek authorities, would begin Tuesday and last for about a week "to explore possibilities for technical assistance from the IMF in the coming months on pension reform, tax policy, tax administration, and budget management," the fund said in a statement.
"The mission is within the context of the regular surveillance that the IMF provides to its membership," the brief statement said.
The "technical assistance" formulation appeared to suggest that financial aid would be discussed.
The Greek government on Friday announced a 20 percent increase in tobacco and alcohol taxes and a higher inheritance tax as it fended off European Union pressure for drastic action to tackle its debt mountain.
Greece, whose public spending deficit rose to 12.7 percent of output last year and debt to 113 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), must present its crisis program to the EU by the end of the month.
European Commission and European Central Bank experts met with Greek officials from Wednesday through Friday to discuss what crisis measures would be taken.
Finance Minister Georges Papaconstantinou announced the tax hikes as he reaffirmed the need for the country to establish financial credibility in Europe where Greece's troubles have raised fears over the eurozone's stability.
The Socialist government is aiming to bring the deficit to below three percent of GDP, the limit imposed by the eurozone, in 2012.
The EU and the IMF already have acted jointly to help two EU members to cope with sharp downturns amid the global economic crisis: Hungary in November 2008 and Latvia the following month.
The Greek government has said it will get the spending deficit down to 8.7 percent in 2010 by cutting government spending and fighting tax fraud. Pension reforms are to be proposed by April.
Greece will have to endure monthly visits by EU officials from February as part of the tighter surveillance ordered by its European partners, the finance ministry said.
The Spanish EU presidency warned Greece last week that it should not expect an EU bailout.
Papaconstantinou told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 recently that "we will solve our fiscal problems alone."
"We have not asked for, and do not expect any help from the European Central Bank or a member state from the European Union", he said.
AFP - The International Monetary Fund said Monday it is sending a mission to Athens this week for talks on helping debt-stricken Greece overcome its financial crisis.
The mission, at the request of the Greek authorities, would begin Tuesday and last for about a week "to explore possibilities for technical assistance from the IMF in the coming months on pension reform, tax policy, tax administration, and budget management," the fund said in a statement.
"The mission is within the context of the regular surveillance that the IMF provides to its membership," the brief statement said.
The "technical assistance" formulation appeared to suggest that financial aid would be discussed.
The Greek government on Friday announced a 20 percent increase in tobacco and alcohol taxes and a higher inheritance tax as it fended off European Union pressure for drastic action to tackle its debt mountain.
Greece, whose public spending deficit rose to 12.7 percent of output last year and debt to 113 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), must present its crisis program to the EU by the end of the month.
European Commission and European Central Bank experts met with Greek officials from Wednesday through Friday to discuss what crisis measures would be taken.
Finance Minister Georges Papaconstantinou announced the tax hikes as he reaffirmed the need for the country to establish financial credibility in Europe where Greece's troubles have raised fears over the eurozone's stability.
The Socialist government is aiming to bring the deficit to below three percent of GDP, the limit imposed by the eurozone, in 2012.
The EU and the IMF already have acted jointly to help two EU members to cope with sharp downturns amid the global economic crisis: Hungary in November 2008 and Latvia the following month.
The Greek government has said it will get the spending deficit down to 8.7 percent in 2010 by cutting government spending and fighting tax fraud. Pension reforms are to be proposed by April.
Greece will have to endure monthly visits by EU officials from February as part of the tighter surveillance ordered by its European partners, the finance ministry said.
The Spanish EU presidency warned Greece last week that it should not expect an EU bailout.
Papaconstantinou told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 recently that "we will solve our fiscal problems alone."
"We have not asked for, and do not expect any help from the European Central Bank or a member state from the European Union", he said.