Greek PM unveils tax, pension relief measures ahead of elections

ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday unveiled additional tax and pension "relief measures", weeks before a European Parliament election.

Tsipras pledged to reinstate a permanent benefit for pensioners who had their income slashed in 2012, and to lower value added tax in some categories, including restaurants.

In the coming days, Tsipras told reporters, an amount of 5.5 billion euros would be deposited in an escrow account, which would serve as a guarantee that Greece would meet its fiscal targets and debt obligations.