Greek socialists demand debt statistics inquiry

(ATHENS) - Greece's ruling socialists Wednesday demanded for a parliamentary commission to be set up to probe statistical failings by the previous government that had hidden the extent of the country's debt.

Greece's public deficit is at 12.7 percent of gross domestic product, well above the eurozone limit of three percent, and the country is under European pressure to put its finances in order.

The figure presented by the Socialist government of Georges Papandreou, which took power in October, is strongly up from the 3.7 percent estimated by the previous government.

"The constitutional provision for a parliamentary commission of enquiry (...) is justified by the fact that the change in the statistics has caused the present international outcry," socialist party spokesman Christos Papoutsis said in parliament.

Under the constitution, the launch of a parliamentary commission of inquiry must be approved by the majority of the 300 members of parliament. The socialist party, called Pasok, holds 160 seats.

It has accused the previous right-wing government of having hidden the true extent of Greece's debt.

The revision has hammered Greece's credibility on the international markets, and plunged the country into an unprecedented financial crisis.

Concerns had been mounting that Greece's public debt would spill over into other European nations but EU finance ministers on Tuesday told the struggling government to prepare "additional measures" by March 16 to put its finances in order.