ATHENS, Dec 14: Greek disabled people and their families held a march in central Athens on Tuesday, protesting spending cuts and welfare reforms, as the government continued talks with visiting international creditors to support the ailing economy.

Waving banners with anti-austerity slogans, people with vision and hearing disabilities along with protestors on wheelchairs and their curers demonstrated in front of the parliament building, protesting against cutbacks on benefits introduced over the past few months as part of efforts to counter an acute debt crisis and avert a catastrophic default in Greece.

During a meeting with Finance Ministry officials, representatives of the National Federation of People with Disabilities that staged the protest argued that daily life costs more when you are disabled, and disabled people and their families are more vulnerable to the impact of the painful austerity policies under way.

But the latest figures on the country's budget deficit showed there is narrow space to manoeuvres.

According to the data released by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, due to deep recession that reaches up to 5.5 percent, despite spending cuts and tax hikes, the deficit from January to November this year widened by 5.1 percent on a year-on-year basis to 20.52 billion euros (27.07 billion U.S, dollars).

The development fuelled forecasts by local analysts over a new round of austerity measures next year to make up for shortfalls, as the target for a deficit of up to 9 percent of GDP this year seems more unlikely to be achieved in coming weeks.

At this backdrop, interim Prime Minister Lucas Papademos briefed President Karolos Papoulias on the results of last week's European Union (EU) summit regarding the handling of the crisis on an international level.

Meanwhile, auditors of EU and International Monetary Fund lenders continued talks here with Greek officials, assessing the country's economic policy that is linked to the implementation of the second bailout plan for Greece agreed this October on top the first aid package granted last year.

In a significant week for the future of the Greek economy, as Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said, Greek officials held parallel meetings on Tuesday with visiting European Commissioner on Regional Development Johannes Hahn and the head of the EU's Task Force for Greece Horst Reichenbach, aiming to boost real economy and solve the liquidity issue.

Without the sixth 8 billion euro (10.55 billion dollars) aid tranche of the first package eventually released to Athens this December, Greece could go bankrupt by Christmas.

The course of the ailing economy in coming months will be also determined by the success of the "haircut" of part of the Greek state debt owned by private sector bondholders. Institute for International Finance managing director Charles Dallara winded up on Tuesday in Athens a first round of negotiations on the detailed terms of the plan.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com