The head of the European Sector of the IMF spoke in Lima, Peru where he clarified that his organization will not participate financially in Greece's new bailout program, if the debt is not decreased. He avoided to specify exactly what he meant when he asked for a lightening of the debt but his statement could be perceived as an indirect answer to the head of the Eurogroup j.Djisselbloem.
The president of the Eurogroup said on Friday that the members of the Eurozone have come to a general agreement that a re-profiling of the Greek debt must be achieved through the imposition of a yearly limit to the cost of serving the country's debt at 15% of the GNP.
When asked to comment on that, Paul Thomsen said that “we must discuss what the exact goal will be, but there is no doubt in our minds that if Europe decided to provide a lightening of the debt through an elongation of the grace period and the payment dates then this should be a really long grace period and a significant movement of the payments to a later date”
Greece is ready for reforms
P.Thomsen estimated that the danger of a rekindling of the Greek crisis has been significantly reduced after the bailout deal that was agreed during July. As he said the Greek government appears to be willing to discuss the reforms that must be applied to the country.
Mr.Thomsen went on to clarify that the Greek government will have to pass a pretty significant agenda of changes in the public insurance as well as the fiscal sector. He closed that remark by saying “we welcome the Greek government which now seems to realize the necessities”.