EU forecasts 4.4% slide in 2012 Greek GDP

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission said on Thursday that a fifth year of recession in Greece would result in a 4.4-percent contraction of gross domestic product in 2012.

The Commission previously expected Greece, rushing to nail down a 107-billion-euro write-down of private debt and a fresh 130-billion-euros bailout, to see its economy shrink 2.8 percent this year.