In a interview to Austrian newspapers Salzburger Nachrichten and Ober Nachrichten the President of the EuroGroup Working Group, Thomas Wieser labeled the IMF’s proposal for a radical reduction of the Greek debt ridiculous. “All Europeans say: That is ridiculous”, he remarked in his interview to the two publications. Mr. Wieser shed light on the talks behind closed doors at the recent EuroGroup meeting explaining what happened during the meeting. “The IMF called for a radical cut in the Greek debt by the country not paying via amortisation until 2060 followed by a new loan until 2100 to pay off all the debts. That’s where all Europeans said: This is ridiculous”. Mr. Wieser underlined the difficulties faced on the Greek matter pointing out that even though the program should have been at its 8th review, the 2nd review had not yet been completed. Mr. Wieser expressed his optimism that a deal would be reached on the matter during the June 15 EuroGroup meeting. “At the next EuroGroup on June 15 we will agree with a 95% chance”, he said. “The IMF remains on board financially, but not in terms of financing”, he stressed, adding, however, that disagreements with the IMF remained on the debt issue. “The basic parameters are the growth rate and the primary surplus for the next 45 years. It is not a prediction, but assumptions, that do however lead with minimal divergences to huge differences”, he said.
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