Athens trims costs to get fit

The Greek parliament passed on Tuesday night its budget for 2012, which includes tax hikes, privatisations and drastic cuts in the public sector. The conservative business paper Naftemporiki welcomes the measures as an important step out of the crisis: "The budget includes important measures both for the state's revenues and its expenditure. ... The targets are not based on optimistic prognoses for gross domestic product growth. They are based on structural reforms the implementation of which the troika sees as absolutely crucial. ... For these reforms are aimed at creating the conditions for the country to consolidate its budget."

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