another source

[link to economictimes.indiatimes.com]



"A significant debt increase, a high primary deficit and the deep recession have boosted to the extreme the debt dynamic, which is now out of control," the newly-formed State Budget Execution Monitoring Office, staffed by independent analysts, said in a report.

"These developments seem to offset to a great extent the positive impact" of the latest EU loan package of 159 billion euros ($229 billion) agreed last month, it added.

Venizelos insisted on Thursday that the document "lacks the validity" of equivalent international reports.

Greece is currently undergoing an EU-IMF-ECB audit which will determine whether it will be given the latest portion out of an earlier 110-billion-euro loan that pulled the country back from the brink of bankruptcy last year.

Held down by cutbacks, the Greek economy is shrinking at an alarming rate, with Venizelos last week admitting it will likely contract by more than 4.5 percent this year, worse than an earlier 3.5 percent forecast.