Roundup: Greek economy still struggling, five years after resort to bailout

Five years after Greece resorted to the then newly-established European Union- International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout mechanism to avert a chaotic bankruptcy, the latest statistics showed that the ailing economy was still struggling despite prolonged painful efforts to stay afloat and within the eurozone.

On April 23, 2010, the then newly-elected socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou announced his government's decision to request international assistance during a visit at the small island of Kastelorizo in the southeastern Aegean Sea.

Two weeks later Greece was clinching an agreement with creditors for a multi-billion euro lifeline in exchange of tough austerity and reform measures to address the debt crisis.

After two bailouts, a "haircut", prolonged recession, sacrifices and suffering as well as seismic changes in the political system which led to five governments in five years, Greece has made progress steps, but seems to still have a long way ahead to return to stability and growth, according to Greek and foreign officials and finance experts.

Since the spring of 2010 it has been estimated that on average Greece's gross domestic product (GDP) has been shrinking by 22.8 million euros on a daily basis, according to a special report on Greek leading news portal in.gr on Thursday.

Each day passing 613 Greeks have been losing their jobs. Poverty and suicide rates skyrocketed. Five years later one million Greeks -- one of of four of the working force -- are unemployed.

In 2010 the Greek GDP stood at 226.2 billion euros. In 2014 it reached 179 billion euros.

Recession started from 5.4 percent in 2010, hit 8.9 percent in 2011, dropped to 6.6 percent in 2012 and then to 3.9 percent in 2013 before Athens posts a marginal growth rate of 0.8 percent last year.

Greece achieved a remarkable fiscal adjustment reducing deficits from 15.6 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.5 percent in 2014.

However the debt load grew from 126.8 percent of GDP in 2009 to 177.1 percent last year.

Despite improvement in financial indexes, real economy is still limping and Greek people are still faced with scenarios of a looming default and Grexit this spring.

The Leftist government which was elected in January this year, pledging to put an end to the bailout and austerity, has been negotiating an "honest compromise" with lenders on the terms of future cooperation and the final formula to resolve the Greek debt issue.

Lack of substantial progress since February on the list of reforms in return of further financial aid has led to an increasing liquidity problem and renewed scenarios of a meltdown by the summer.

Hopes for a concrete step during Friday's Eurogroup meeting in Riga have faded again and concern has fuelled.

Athens' new government has said several times lately that they were willing "to compromise but not be compromised." Enditem