Tourism Worries: Greece Seeks to Slow Public Sector Layoffs
Respect the beach vacations madame Christine ... ''REUTERS'' GREECE- Chalkidiki Greece has never proven itself to be particularly adept at meeting deadlines imposed by the European Union as it seeks to reform its economy . And when it comes to laying off thousands of public servants , Athens is hopelessly behind. But now, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to personally ask his country's international creditors to further extend its deadline for the layoff scheme. His government is concerned that a summer of p rotests resulting from the cuts could have significant ramifications for the tourism industry. Greece had promised its lenders -- represented by the so-called "Troika" made up of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- that it would dismiss 2,000 public servants by the end of J