Two negative reports concerning Greece were forwarded to the members of the IMF’s board directors, Tuesday night. Citing an informed source, mignatiou.com says that the two documents, which are expected to be discussed during a special IMF board meeting in the first week of February, were “depressing.” “The reports were not good for Greece. I would label them dreary”, the source told mignatiou.com, adding, however, that there were some positive aspects.
According to the same source, the exact date the two reports will be discussed has not yet been determined because Athens has requested a fortnight to prepare.
The first report purportedly relates to an inspection carried out by IMF representative Delia Velculescu on the Greek economy in September based on the Fund’s article 4. The report pertaining to the sustainability of the Greek debt will also be examined, with sources saying that Poul Thomsen’s team has concluded that it is indeed unsustainable.
A draft report published by the IMF five months ago called for a cut in current pensions and a reduction in the tax-free threshold.
The second report, entitled “Greece: Ex Post Evaluation of Exceptional Access under the 2012 Stand-By Arrangement” concerns post-review of the bailout program which the Fund and Greece had agreed upon in 2012 and had been prematurely completed in January of 2016.
