Greece falls back into recession

By Idyli Tsakiri

ATHENS (AA) - Greece is back in recession for the first time since 2012, according to official Eurostat numbers published on Tuesday.

The country’s GDP fell by 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2017, following a drop of 1.2 percent in the final three months of 2016.

Its GDP is 0.5 percent lower than it was in the first quarter of 2016.

The EU numbers come days ahead of a Greek parliamentary vote on new austerity measures.

Lawmakers plan to vote on a new bill which includes further pension cuts, higher taxation and lower tax exceptions, in order to conclude the second review of its bailout program.

Major strikes and demonstrations by labor unions are also planned for Wednesday and Thursday.

Greece is now the only country in the European Union to have experienced a negative GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2017.

“Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.7 percent in the euro area and by 2.0 percent in the EU28 (European Union member states) in the first quarter of 2017,” Eurostat said.