Review of spending to start in September
Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis has given the go-ahead for the formation of a spending review committee with the aim of trimming government expenditure so the savings can be used to fund welfare policies and tax cuts.
The scheme will begin in a pilot format at the Finance, Economy and Culture ministries in September and is expected to be rolled out at the remaining government departments, as well as the bodies they oversee, between January and July 2017.
The coalition’s aim is to slash ministries’ expenditure by 10 percent. It is expected that the potential benefits from the spending review will be included in the 2018 national budget. The savings are not expected to exceed 500 million euros.
Sources said that the government will be advised from September on how to conduct the spending review by British experts who have experience of overseeing a similar scheme in the UK. The International Monetary Fund is also expected to provide know-how on this issue.
