Despite Greece’s exit from the bailout process and the significant progress in key economic indicators, the chronic problem of overdue public debts to individuals remains unresolved.
Although interventions have been announced from time to time – particularly in the hospital sector – debts have not only not been eliminated but are rebounding to levels reminiscent of the tough years of the economic crisis.
According to the latest data from the State General Accounting Office, in March overdue public debts amounted to 2.9 billion euros, almost reaching the levels of November 2017, when they had reached €3.14 billion.
Add to this the pending tax refunds of €723 million – of which €316 million is considered overdue – and it turns out that the state is depriving the real economy of liquidity of around €3.65 billion.
As sources from the Ministry of Finance assure, the problem is not fiscal, nor is there a lack of money. On the contrary, what is emerging is a long-term inability of the state to repay its obligations on time. The main causes are the low speed of processing payments, the time-consuming clearance and control procedures, the shortage of personnel in critical administrative services, and the inadequate computerization in critical bodies.
The majority of these debts come from the healthcare sector: Hospitals owe €1.49 billion, an amount increased by €212 million in just one month (compared to February).
A significant increase is also recorded in the arrears of local authorities: From €280 million in February, their debts jumped to €373 million in March, an increase of €93 million. The debts of the Social Security Organizations decreased marginally to €582 million from €604 million in February.
The overdue debts of other entities of the state were on an upward trajectory: From €195 million in February, they increased to €227 million in March, while the debt of the core state sector – i.e. the ministries and their directly supervised bodies – also increased, with overdue debts of €254 million, from €174 million in February.
