Greece might be spared from having to hit the strict fiscal targets from previous bailouts in 2021, given the ongoing health and economic crises in the world. The country, which has been bailed out three times, agreed in 2018 to reach a primary budget surplus. That is when a government’s revenues are higher than its spending. For Greece, that number sits at 3.5% until 2022 This required level of surplus limits the government’s ability to spend but was agreed with international creditors in return for softer debt repayment conditions.

 

However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has completely changed the economic landscape for Greece, as well as for the wider European Union. As a result, EU policymakers agreed in late March to lift fiscal targets for each member country for as long as necessary giving them more leeway to tackle the unprecedented economic shock.

The European Union has already been hit hard by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and contracted 3.5% in the first quarter of the year. However, the latest EU forecasts suggest that the 27-member economy could fall as much as 7.4% this year.

https://www.neweurope.eu/article/the-economy-is-another-battle-for-greece/

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