ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s lawmakers are set to pass next year’s budget, one that extends tough austerity measures that have already left Greeks struggling as the country tries to slash its debts and pull itself out of a severe recession.
The budget is expected to pass with an overwhelming majority at midnight Tuesday.
It foresees a fourth year of recession in 2012, although it also projects a primary surplus — a surplus excluding interest payments on debt — of 1.1 percent of gross domestic product.
Greece’s debt crisis has roiled the euro, with Europe’s single currency facing its largest crisis since it went into circulation in 2002. The Standard & Poor’s ratings agency has placed 15 eurozone countries on notice for possible downgrades.
