The Greek economy entered a new period of recession as the first quarter of 2015 gross domestic product dropped by 0.2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. According to figures by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) released on Wednesday, Greece’s GDP dropped 0.2 percent in the first quarter compared to the last quarter of the previous year. At the same time, growth was at +0.3 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014. Annual growth increase is projected at 0.1 percent, far from the 1 percent that the Greek government has claimed to achieve. However, the European Commission recently decreased the estimated growth figure to 0.5 percent, while last year the EC had estimated that the growth rate in 2015 will reach 2.9 percent. ELSTAT analysts estimate that the continuing uncertainty regarding the deadlock in negotiations with creditors has pushed the country back to recession. This is a result of the “freezing” of private and public investments, the drop in consumption, and the borrowing of reserves of state entity funds by the Greek government in order to meet its financial obligations.
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