Greece will not meet deficit targets this year or in 2012

The Greek finance ministry on Sunday (2 October) conceded that the government will not be able to meet the deficit reduction targets imposed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for this year or next.

The shortfall between spending and revenues will amount to 8.5 percent of GDP in 2011, considerably wider than the 7.6 target set by international lenders.

In 2012, the government will be able to reduce the deficit to 6.8 percent of GDP, but this figure still com...