George Papandreou vows 'no more cuts' for Greeks

Greece's prime minister yesterday promised his government would not impose further wage or pension cuts or hike taxes as a result of an expected upward revision to the budget deficit.

George Papandreou said the Greek people had already made "unprecedented sacrifices".

Greece is battling to slash overspending and improve public finances after being rescued from the brink of bankruptcy this year by loans from European countries and the International Monetary Fund worth €110 billion (97bn) over three years. The deficit for 2009 is expected to rise to about 15 per cent or higher from the current projection of 13.6 per cent of GDP, according to estimates by Greek authorities.

But Mr Papandreou insisted Greece will meet its deficit reduction targets in 2010 without additional austerity measures for average Greeks.

"Whatever happens, there will be no additional burden placed on wage earners and pensioners," Mr Papandreou said. "The Greek people have made unprecedented sacrifices."