EC revises down its growth forecast for Greece

In its spring forecast released on Thursday, the European Commission revised down its 2018 growth forecast for Greece to 1.9 percent from 2. 5 percent.

The revision followed a smaller than expected growth rate last year.

For next year, the EC projects a 2.3 percent growth rate for Greece, lower than its previous forecast of 2.5 percent.

The commission's forecast for unemployment this year is 20.1 percent, down from 21.5 percent last year with joblessness predicted to drop to 18.4 percent in 2019.

According to the EC, Greece is expected to hit a primary surplus target of 3.5 percent in 2018 and maintain it next year.

As for the country's debt burden, it stood at 178.6 percent of gross domestic product last year and is expected to dip to 177.8 percent this year and further drop to 170.3 percent next year due to higher projected growth and surpluses.