IMF “bombshell”: Measures insufficient

Source tells Bloomberg institutions far from agreement

According to Bloomberg, an IMF executive labeled the decision by the EuroGroup to activate medium-term ESM measures for a debt relief for Greece while pushing back any further interventions until after the completion of the program in mid 2018 as “insufficient”. The report says that the official also was doubtful about the high GDP surplus targets for 2018, while he noted that the institutions were far from agreeing on the way to approach the Greek matter. The Fund is requesting from its partners to specify its medium-term measures on the Greek debt. EuroGroup head Jeroen Dissjelbloem postponing talks on the matter had been a standing position of the EU adding that the IMF was aware of this. The IMF was extremely reserved regarding its EU partners’ persistence for a 3.5% surplus target in 2018 and the next 10 years, a demand that leaves open the danger of new fiscal measures in the future. The Fund’s official noted that the longer the EU demands a high surplus rate the less credible the whole program became. The same source defended the Fund over reports that it was pushing for harsher and more austerity, claiming that the others were reaching decisions for high surplus targets.