ATHENS, Sept 13 (AFP) - The Greek economy, one of the eurozone's most dynamic, may slow down next year as post-Olympic budget cuts and structural weaknesses take their toll on growth, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.
"Underlying fundamentals suggest the economy may slow materially in 2005," an IMF mission said here in a report after a visit to Greece.
Greece's previous socialist government, which was voted out of office in March, had predicted the economy would grow by 3.7 percent year-on-year in 2005, down from 4.2 percent this year.
"While growth should remain strong this year, the outlook for coming years is much less certain," the IMF report said, without giving a forecast for 2005.
In May, the Paris-based OECD predicted the Greek economy would expand 4.0 percent in 2004 and 3.5 percent in 2005.
The European Union's statistical agency Eurostat forecast Greek growth for 2005 at 3.3 percent, while consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers said it could slow to 3.0 percent.
"Beyond 2005, prospects depend critically on fiscal consolidation, policies to boost aggregate supply, and better alignment of real wages with productivity to help restore competitiveness," the IMF concluded.
"Fiscal consolidation is, of course, the first order of business," the Washington-based organisation said.
The August Athens Olympics cost Greece around seven billion euros (8.6 billion dollars) and helped push the country's public deficit for 2004 to an estimated 5.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) -- way above the three-percent-of-GDP limit prescribed by the eurozone's Stability and Growth Pact.
According to senior Greek statistics officials, Olympic spending accounts for about a quarter of the country's budget deficit this year.
Greece's public debt for 2004 will reach 112 percent of GDP, nearly twice as high as the pact's 60-percent ceiling and one of the eurozone's highest.