国际英语新闻：Greece will return to growth in 2012: government

ATHENS, Feb. 11 (Xinhua)-- Despite recession, there are positive signs supporting initial estimations that Greek national economy will stabilize in the second half of 2011 and return to growth in 2012, said a statement released by the Greek Finance Ministry Friday.

It was the first official reaction of the Greek government to the conclusion of the latest review of the Greek plan to exit the acute debt crisis by auditors of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In a press conference held earlier in Athens foreign experts paved the way for the release of the fourth tranche of EU-IMF aid to Greece in March, noting that the program is still on right track, but structural reforms should be implemented at a faster rate.

Greece narrowly escaped bankruptcy last May and since then is financially supported by EU partners and the IMF to overcome the crisis in exchange for austerity measures and reforms.

Recession will stand at 3 percent in 2011, while inflation is expected to drop to 2.5 percent this year, according to the data released on Friday by the Greek Finance Ministry.

Greek officials are still confident that the budget deficit which stood at 15.4 percent of GDP in late 2009 will decline to 7. 4 percent in 2011 and less than three percent by 2014.

According to Friday' s statement, the Ministry will focus in the following months on further reforms in tax, health and social security systems, the labor market, the liberalization of the energy market, as well as on the privatization of public real estate assets and the boost of investments.