Greece says has 'full trust' in deficit stats during bailout
A deputy finance minister in Greece says his government has "full trust" in the budget deficit data issued by the country's independent statistics authority, as the agency's former director faces trial for allegedly inflating the figures.
Speaking in parliament Thursday, George Chouliarakis, said Greece's left-wing government did not dispute the data used during three successive bailouts involving eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
Former statistics agency director Andreas Georgiou, who previously worked at the IMF, faces claims by two Greek colleagues that deficit figures were deliberately inflated to make Greece dependent on bailout loans.
Last week, the European Union's executive Commission urged Greece to publicly back the data produced during Georgiou's leadership, between 2010 and 2015.