"There is absolutely no problem with Greek swaps, the case has been resolved," Eurostat Chief Walter Radermacher told Greek daily Ta Nea on Friday following checks on
data supplied by Greek authorities.
Last year Greece had been asked by the European Union to explain reports that its derivatives trades with U.S. investment banks may have allowed it to mask the size of its debt and deficit from EU authorities.
One such report by the New York Times had said that a swap deal in 2001, involving selling forward future lottery receipts and airport landing fees in exchange for cash, helped Greece write down debt as it was joining the euro zone.
The head of Greece's debt agency when the swaps were conducted with Goldman Sachs told Reuters last year the transactions were too small and had only a tiny impact on its budget deficit and future liabilities.
Radermacher told the newspaper that after good cooperation by Greece's statistics service (ELSTAT) and relevant ministries open issues regarding swaps deals were resolved.
He said that in 2008 Eurostat had asked all euro zone member countries to report such transactions and that while all other countries complied, Greece had not supplied the information.
"What is being said, that we are stricter with Greece, is not the case. It is a misunderstanding that we are more Catholic than the Pope or more Orthodox than the Patriarch," Radermacher was quoted as saying.
"Simply, rules apply to all member states," he said
source: Reuters
