Greece’s Samaras Says 2013 Primary Surplus Better Than Expected

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the country posted a bigger budget surplus before interest costs last year than previously expected as some European Union lawmakers said Greece needed more debt relief.

The latest data showed that Greece’s 2013 primary budget surplus was more than 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), Samaras told his party’s lawmakers in a speech in Athens today. The government’s 2014 budget estimated that it had achieved a surplus of 812 million euros last year, a year before the government was scheduled to achieve a surplus under the terms of its 240 billion-euro bailout from the euro area and International Monetary Fund.