Germany Pushes for Greek Reforms as IMF Will Make No Exceptions

Germany on Monday voiced support for Greece to stay in the euro zone and the European Commission dispatched a senior official to Athens to persuade it to take on further reforms to salvage its bailout accord.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, meanwhile, remained firm that as a lender the IMF could not cut any special deals for the crisis-hit country, which has received three bailouts since 2010.

The moves came as the European Commission forecast a large jump in economic growth for Greece of 2.7 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, this year and next.

Such economic recovery, said Yannis Stournaras, Greece’s central bank chief, could be in danger without a swift agreement with international lenders. Down the road “it may be too late”, he said.

The future of Greece’s multi-billion-euro financial aid program is contingent on Athens concluding a second review of progress in its economic reform obligations.

But months of wrangling over changes to labor and energy markets have been compounded by differences between the IMF and Greece’s European lenders over fiscal targets for Greece, struggling to emerge from years of recession.

via Reuters

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