The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) today acquitted its former head Hellenic Statistical Office (ELSTAT)which in 2010 was at the center of the debt crisis.

Andreas Georgiou, head of ELSTAT from 2010 to 2015, was convicted in 2017 of second-degree dereliction of duty and given a two-year suspended sentence for simultaneously holding a position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Greek justice also accused him of failing to convene the board of directors of ELSTAT within 10 months and disclosing financial information without the consent of this body.

Andreas Georgiou appealed against this decision, but his appeal was rejected “without the slightest reason”, according to him, reminds the ECtHR. He addressed the European judges with reference to the article of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to a fair trial.

In today’s decision, the Strasbourg Court considers that “the reopening of the proceedings before the annulment tribunal would constitute an appropriate remedy for the restoration of the plaintiff’s violated rights”.

In the same case, Andreas Georgiou was accused of deliberately inflating government deficit figures in 2010 to force his country to take drastic fiscal measures. This charge was ultimately not brought against him.

During Andreas Georgiou’s tenure at ELSTAT from 2010 to 2015, the state budget deficit was revised upwards from 13.6% of GDP to 15.4%, and the debt increased from 115.1% to 126.8%, while in previous years, Athens systematically concealed the economic situation of the country.

This upward revision of the deficit marked the beginning of the debt crisis, followed by the participation of the IMF, along with the Eurozone, in the first support plan for Greece in 2010.

According to his critics, Andreas Georgiou was also a member of the board of directors of the IMF at the time, but his lawyers say that this lasted only three to four months.

The intervention of the IMF caused a reaction in the country, led by the leftist Alexis Tsipras, who was then in opposition.

In 2016, the European Union publicly defended Andreas Georgiou. Commissioner for Social Affairs Marian Thyssen stated that “Greece’s debt data for the period 2010 to 2015 was reliable and was reported accurately.”

^{Source: APE-MEB}