A team of European Union and IMF experts today wound up a visit to Athens assessing Greece's deficit reduction plans - leaving the government in limbo about further cost-cutting reforms, dpa reported. Their trip came after tens of thousands of people demonstrated across Greece on Wednesday to protest against the Socialist government's austerity measures, crippling the country's transport system and paralysing government services. Greece's ballooning budget deficit and its problems in reigning it in have shaken market faith in the strength of the euro. EU states are keen to shore up the currency's credibility, but so far have shied away from offering Athens a bail-out. Earlier this month, the European Commission and member states put the Greek government under the strictest supervision they have ever imposed on a national government to make sure that the budget deficit is filled. Athens has already committed to a sweeping series of cuts in public sector spending and tax raises in a bid to restore investor confidence in its fiscal stability. But if experts say the programme is not enough, a meeting of EU finance ministers could demand even harsher measures at a meeting on March 16. Before that, the European Union's top monetary official, Olli Rehn, is expected to travel to Greece next week to discuss the country's budget woes. "I am going to Greece next week to discuss the economic and fiscal situation of Greece and the future financial stability of the eurozone," Rehn told journalists in Brussels. In Athens, the team of experts from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund met with Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou and Economy Minister Louka Katselli. Since they arrived on Tuesday, experts have held meetings with officials from the Bank of Greece and the president of a finance ministry committee, George Zanias. They also held talks at the labour ministry on the pension system which is at the heart of reforms. The Athens News Agency said the team of experts put emphasis on strict adherence to Greece's Stability and Growth Programme, but expressed reservations on the Greek government's forecasts regarding the growth rate of the Greek economy. Under pressure from the EU and financial markets, Greece has promised to curb public spending, raise taxes and fight tax evasion. It has set targets of cutting back on annual public deficit by four percentage points of GDP to 8.7 per cent this year. On Wednesday, Standard and Poor's credit rating agency warned that it could downgrade Greek sovereign debt again within a month.
