Public sector reforms mandatory, FinMin

Structural changes in public sector enterprises and the wider public sector are mandatory and must be completed by the end of March, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told a group of 30 PASOK ruling party deputies during a meeting on Wednesday, sources said.

The same sources said the minister expressed optimism that Cabinet ministers will promote this goal, while he added that five new draft bills are expected to be tabled to Parliament by the end of the year, including a new tax bill and another on opening up so-called “closed professions”.

Moreover, Papaconstantinou told the group of MPs that the economy needs liquidity and this means that markets should remain open, something that necessitates confidence and credibility, which is established by achieving goals, as he said.

Finally, he said it was necessary to cut overspending in the public sector in order to reach a goal of slashing the fiscal deficit to reach 3.0 pct of GDP by 2014.