The State General Accounting Office has recorded a whopping 2.3bn euro primary surplus for the first quarter, nearly double the initial target.
The primary surplus for the entire 2017 fiscal year was 4.2bn euros.
The huge first quarter surplus, which is two billion euros more than the target, is attributed to major cuts in the Public Investment Programme budget, and exceeding revenues targets in the government budget and the regular budget.
According to provisional quarterly data released by the State General Accounting Office, public investment expenditures were 556mn euros less than the 1.060bn euro target.
The data registered a 199mn euro decline in primary expenditures. The finance ministry attributed that decline mainly to the funding cuts for hospitals, Regional Health Care Districts (YPE), and the Primary National Healthcare Network (PEDY), which amounted to 294mn euros less the original target, while state budget expenditures were 1.120bn euros, as compared to the same period in 2017.
The finance ministry says that it has spent an additional 171mn euros on the Social Solidarity Income programme for the lowest income brackets, and 65mn euros in aid to families with three or more children.
