Greece requests fiscal space to deal with COVID-19 effect

Greece has requested European creditors to give some fiscal space to deal with the necessary extra spending on the management of the novel coronavirus epidemic and increased migration pressure, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Monday.

The Greek official welcomed European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Managing Director Klaus Regling to the Greek capital to discuss the prospects of the Greek economy ahead of the next post-bailout review.

Greece posted positive results in recent months, meeting fiscal targets set, and continues on the reform path to leave behind the 10-year debt crisis, but needs breathing space, especially after the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic and the pressure from tens of thousands people on its borders with Turkey in the past few weeks, he noted.

"We will continue to materialize the commitments undertaken by our country. However,...