| Author (Person) | Maurice, Eric |
|---|---|
| Series Title | EUObserver |
| Series Details | 02.08.17 |
| Publication Date | 02/08/2017 |
| Content Type | News |
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Background and further information: The court found him guilty of having set data about the Greek budget deficit for 2009 to Eurostat without information Elstat's board. The figures established by the stastical authority showed a higher deficit than had been previously declared by Greek authorities and were eventually instrumental in talks with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when negotiations for Greece's first bailout began. Critics said that a harsher programme was imposed on the country because of this inflated number. Mr Georgiou was first charged in 2013 for allegedly inflating the deficit figures, which configures a criminal offence. The case was fropped in 2015 but later reopened after a prosecutor appealed. It was dropped a second time in May 2017 and reopened in July. While he was convicted, he was cleared of the criminal charges. The European Commission stated it had 'taken note' of the ruling and said the independence of Elsat was a 'key commitment' by Greece under the bailout memorandum. It went on to show 'full confidence in the reliability and accuracy of Elsat data during 2010 to 2015 and beyond'. The Commission had previously called on the Greek government to 'actively and publicly challenge the false impression that data were manipulated'. An appeals court in Greece decided on 1 August 2017 to punish Andreas Georgiou, the former head of the country's statistics agency [Elstat], by giving him a two-year suspended sentence for breach of duty, in a case involving false budget deficit data. |
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| Source Link | https://euobserver.com/justice/138666 |
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| Countries / Regions | Greece |
