ATHENS: The Greek socialist government tabled a budget on Friday to cut the public deficit to 9.1 percent of output and save the country's economy from the "emergency room," Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

"We undertook the responsibility to take the country out of a deep crisis," Papandreou said in a televised address.

"Our goal is to take the country out of the emergency room," he said.

The budget, which was submitted to parliament earlier in the day, aims to cut the deficit from 12.7 percent to 9.1 percent next year.

It also predicts the Greek economy will contract by 0.3 percent in 2010 compared to a 1.2-percent contraction forecast for 2009.

The government will attempt to axe state expenses by 2.3 percent to 69 billion euros -- partly by freezing the wages of some 40,000 civil servants -- while keeping pledges to boost education and health funding.

A planned crackdown on rampant tax evasion is calculated to increase public revenues by nine percent to 53.7 billion euros (80 billion dollars).

The Greek deficit is currently estimated at 30.5 billion euros.

Unemployment has been pegged at 9.7 percent compared to 9.0 percent in 2009 while inflation is expected to reach 1.4 percent after 1.2 percent this year.

Greece is under pressure from the European Union to deliver reliable figures after the socialists, who came to power last month, said the previous conservative administration had vastly underestimated the economy's plight in official statistics submitted to Brussels.

The previous government had placed the deficit at 6.0 percent, still well over the EU's mandatory 3.0 percent ceiling.

"The international crisis is not the cause, it merely exacerbates the situation in our country," the prime minister said.

The socialists intend to make "drastic changes" to the country's tax system next year, the prime minister said.

"Citizens need to know they are being taxed fairly, where their money is going," he said.

He also pledged a national campaign against corruption, a deep-suited tradition in the country that allegedly eats up millions of euros in bribes and discourages investment and innovation.

Anti-graft watchdog Transparency International earlier this week said Greece had slipped from 57th place to 71st on its annual corruption index.