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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-12-28
CONTENTS
[01] FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF WAR IN IRAQ ON GREECE
[01] FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF WAR IN IRAQ ON GREECE
Athens, 28 December 2002 (21:00 UTC+2)
Possible scenarios of the consequences a war in Iraq would have on
Greece and measures to deal with them, are being studied by the
leadership of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, throwing all the
weight on the fronts of controlling inflation, observing the budget and
promoting structural changes.
Specifically, the government's financial staff is concerned with the
course of inflation, due to the increasing price of oil in combination
with the bad weather, which may effect the price of agricultural
products.
In a worst case scenario, in which the war would last for months or
would cause a significant rise in oil prices, nothing can be taken for
granted both concerning the Greek economy, and that of the Eurozone,
stressed high ranking officials of the Ministry of Finance, according
to a Flash.gr publication.
In such a case, the same officials are preparing for a further cutback
in labor costs, and abandoning the 3.8% growth rate goal.
In fact, they did not hesitate to stress that even a 3% growth rate is
being optimistic if the war lasts months or if Iraqi oil wells are
struck, and if, at the same time, the euro retains its dominance
towards the dollar, or if Latin America and Japan are not able to
overcome their problems.
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