BRUSSELS (MNI) – There is no disagreement between the Eurogroup and
the International Monetary Fund on Greece, Luxembourg’s Finance Minister
Luc Frieden said Tuesday.
The comment came after IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and
Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker last night publicly contradicted each
other on the timeline of Greece’s adjustment needs.
In a press briefing, Juncker said that the 120% debt-to-GDP-ratio
that Greece is expected to achieve by 2020 could be moved to 2022,
while Lagarde insisted on the original deadline.
“It is not the case that there is a fight between IMF and
Eurogroup,” Frieden said. Everybody is searching for a way to “make sure
that Greece will in a number of years again be on the path to regular
access to financial markets.”
Frieden said it was not a question of two years more or two years
less. “In my view, the question is more how will Greece credibly
implement that what will be decided,” he said. Noting that any
extension of adjustment will cost additional money, he said that strict
control of reform measure ahead was the key.
“There is no risk of default of Greece in the next few days,”
Frieden added.
–Frankfurt newsroom +49 69 72 01 42; Email: jtreeck@mni-news.com
[TOPICS: MT$$$$,M$$CR$,M$X$$$,M$$EC$]