The European Commission predicted growth of 1.9% of GDP this year and 2.3% in 2019 for the Greek economy, according to its latest figures released on Thursday morning.

However, in its winter forecast, the Commission had predicted growth of 2.5% of GDP for this year, so the decline in the predictions is steep.

The previous year, 2017, closed with a growth of only 1.4% compared to initial projections 3.1% on behalf of the Commission.

According to the Commission, the primary surplus of 2018 will amount to 3.7% of GDP above the 3.5% of GDP target and will remain the same for 2019. At the same time, it predicts a fall in unemployment from 21.5% in 2017 to 20.1% this year and to 18.4% in 2019.

It was preceded by the IMF, which in April revised its estimate for a 2.6% growth this year, as it had predicted last October, to 2.0% of GDP.

The government, in its “holistic development plan”, estimates that growth will reach 2.3% in 2018 and is expected to grow by 2.1% on average between 2020 and 2022.