In a shocking report released by the IMF, Friday, the Fund called for extensive reforms in the labour market, including decreasing the minimum wage even more. The report claims the changes are necessary to battle youth unemployment, while it warns that there should be no backtracking on reforms already implemented, like the minimum wage, as it is the highest among EU member states in relation to per capita GDP. The IMF is for legislative changes concerning mass lay-offs to achieve harmonisation with the best EU practises, while it also calls for the opening of closed professions placing priority on lawyers, engineers and longshoremen. The report is in line with the recommendations made by the OECD, calling for the removal of obstacles in competition in the areas of whole sale trade, construction and electronic commerce. It also supports the reforming of licensing in food and beverage industries and tourism. The report recognises that Greece has to a large degree followed the OECD’s recommendations on reinforcing competition in areas such as transport, tourism leasing, milk, bakeries, pharmacies and petrol products. It notes that the demographic problem Greece faces impedes growth and exacerbates the country’s debt. The countries expected to be affected more from ageing population are Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ireland, the report says. The report dubs Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Ireland and Portugal as the countries most likely to face challenges in their economies due to non performing loans.