In 2004, the European Commission launched legal action against Greece for drastically under-reporting its deficit. Following a request by a new Greek government, the Commission revised Greece’s general government deficit for the years between 1997 and 2003.

Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, was summoned to investigate the findings. Military expenditures and interest payments had been serially under-recorded, and the surplus recorded in the social security account had been overstated. The revised figures showed that Greece had been in breach of the EU budget rules every single year since 1997. Had the revised figures been known at the time, Athens would not have been allowed to join the euro zone in 2001.

This saga prompted calls for an improvement in the quality of financial information provided by governments in the European Union, a strengthening of the independent process for compilation of such information, and the need for an independent audit of the output. Little substantive action has yet resulted.

Greece and Cyprus are referred to as ‘trojan horses’ whose governments often defend positions close to Russian interests, and who have been willing to veto common EU positions. A ‘Power Audit’ of EU 27-Russia relations

Recent examples of bad blood are EU on the warpath and EU says Greece must change takeover law.