The 2004 Greek financial audit was a 2004 investigation into the true extent of Greece's public finances. It examined government revenue, spending and the level of borrowing, ahead of the Greek government-debt crisis.
Background
Within the European Union, entry into the Eurozone depends on the applicant nation meeting certain economic criteria. Measures such as budget deficits and public debt levels are assessed, as well as the inflation situation and the stability of the national currency exchange rate of a European Union member state. Requirements include a budget deficit below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), and debt below 60% of GDP, or if above, declining. Some days later, the same newspaper published a Letter to the Editor by the Director General of Eurostat acknowledged the need for monitoring and review of government accounts independent of political cycles, outlining the changes made but taking issue with the portrayal of the Greek account revisions.
In March 2006, Eurostat made changes to the system of defense expenditure calculation, which seemed to legitimize some of the practices of the previous Costas Simitis government of PASOK. This caused criticism of the Financial Audit of 2004 and the New Democracy government by PASOK and parts of the press. New Democracy responded that the defense expenditures covered by the 2006 changes constituted only a small part of much more substantial expenditures that were fraudulently concealed by the previous PASOK government.
See also
- Greek government-debt crisis
- Fakelaki
- Greek financial audits 2009–2010
- Euro area crisis