September 15, 2011
Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, on Thursday raised the spectre of her organisation withholding its portion of an €8bn ($11bn) aid payment Greece needs by the end of this month, saying Athens had implemented requisite economic reforms “in parts”.
Speaking ahead of a highly anticipated meeting of IMF, US and European finance officials in Poland, Ms Lagarde said Athens had to re-ignite “the urge to deliver on commitments” made by its government after a period during which “momentum had slowed down”.
“If there has been no implementation, we don’t pay,” she told CNBC, in describing the IMF’s lending practices.
Ms Lagarde’s comments differ from the views of the IMF’s partner in the Greek bail-out negotiations, the European Commission, which EU officials said is largely satisfied with Greece’s recent concessions. These include a property tax that is expected to raise about €2bn this year to fill a €1.7bn gap in the budget.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment