“There is a common will to try to find a solution” said Pierre Moscovici, European Economic Affairs Commissioner in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The Commission is convinced that we must not do, will not do, without the Fund” he added.
The disagreement between Greece’s creditors has been obvious for some time now. Last Thursday IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde used some strong words warning against “far-fetched fantasy hypotheticals concerning the future of the Greek economy” and repeated the Fund’s position for a “debt operation”.
Under the EU program, Greece is committed to posting a fiscal surplus before interest payments of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product within two years. IMF officials doubt Greece’s economy will be able to deliver such results. The Fund has been skeptical about lending Greece more money unless the country’s liabilities become sustainable both through debt relief and again spending cuts.
However, Pierre Moscovici also held his ground: “Let’s move step by step; the first step is to conclude the review of the program. If we do so, then we can start talking about debt”.
“Everybody acknowledges that there has been progress in the talks with Greece … but there are still points that need to be solved. First, how far the reforms go and there they might be a few nuances between the institutions on the capacity of the Greek people to have more austerity because we need to have social cohesion, we need to boost growth and we need to create jobs” said Pierre Moscovici clearly indicating that the IMF is pushing for a harder agenda.
Regarding Grexit and Brexit, Pierre Moscovici said: “I didn’t want Grexit, I don’t want to talk about Grexit, I don’t want Brexit. We need to have the United Kingdom inside the united Europe and that is precisely what we are supporting”.