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THE ODYSSEY OF GREEK PUBLIC FINANCE STATISTICS
a serious communication issue
Tim Allen, Head of Press Office, Eurostat
The background
Government deficit and debt data
Maastricht criteria: deficit <3%, debt <60% of GDP
Notified by EU Member States to Eurostat…
…and published in a News Release in April and October
Used in Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP)
A long history…
Eurostat reservations on Greek data since 2002Significant revisions in 2004Eurostat report to Council in November 2004• “The reliability of Greek deficit and debt statistics has been the object of
particular attention by Eurostat in the past. Statistical issues in this field were debated with the Greek statistical authorities far more frequently than with any other Member State. Eurostat was forced to introduce several times footnotes about reservations on the quality of Greek debt and deficit figures.”
• Greek data for 1997-2003 revised
Eurostat given (some) additional powers in 2005……but continued to express reservations……and visited Greece more often than any other MS
Four key events
What we wanted to communicate
What methods we used
What the media did
What were the results
22 October 2009 – 2nd notification for 2008
New tables on government support to financial institutions
Technical Briefing
Tables well received
Greek reservation met with limited surprise, but Greece also revised 2009 forecast…
8th January 2010 – Report
Report on Greek government deficit and debt statistics
Questions, requests for interview
Greek TV, German TV
February 2010 – Goldman Sachs swap deal
Media asked questions
Eurostat didn’t know about deal
LOTS of questions / interview requests
Info note on website, sent to agencies
Few interviews, lots blocked
22 April 2010 – 1st notification for 2009
Continued Greek reservation
Technical Briefing
Immediate effect
More interview requests