Greece, Lagarde: euro exit is a possibility, according … – Il Sole 24 Ore

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This article was published May 28, 2015 at 20:52.
The last change is the 29 May 2015 at 08:08.

The party game continues, but is becoming more dangerous. The Greek crisis goes in a few hours from optimism to pessimism blacker, and the markets will adjust in an increasingly nervous.

The general director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, Dresden for the G-7, in an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine did not rule out the exit of Greece from the euro, explaining that “it is very unlikely “to reach a final agreement in the next few days. For Lagarde, however, the output of Athens from the Eurozone would not mean “the end” of the single currency. At first it seemed that Lagarde had spoken of Grexit as a possibility. “The statements attributed to the Faz Lagarde are not accurate, are cited incorrectly,” he later corrected the Fund spokesman Gerry Rice. “There were problems with the translation,” said Rice, without indicating precisely, according to Bloomberg, which are deemed incorrect statements of Lagarde.

In another interview on German television Ard, Lagarde reiterated: “We are working on a solution and I would not say that we have achieved substantial results. Things are moving, but there is still much work to do. “

In the evening skepticism on negotiation was however confirmed by Brussels. There would be no possibility of reaching an agreement by Sunday, as requested by the Greeks, because the progress is too slow, EU sources have said after the conference call of the euro working group that has tried to put pressure on Athens. Without agreement by Wednesday or Thursday next there will be time to unlock aid. It could approach the default.

The interview Lagarde was a ‘bomb’ that forced Alexis Tsipras, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande to make the point in a conference call an hour.

What did Murray in Washington
Before Lagarde intervened William Murray, deputy spokesman for the Washington, saying that the IMF “expects the Greece repay “the institution itself. During the usual press conference biweekly, Murray explained that in general, “any country that does not respect its financial obligations with the Fund, ie the payment of the amount due shall be declared in arrears and therefore no access to fresh funding.”

Murray wanted to remember that the Fund is made up of 188 member countries and that for them a “fiduciary responsibility” to time “guardian of the resources of those countries.” That’s’ why it is important for countries to repay “the institution headed by Christine Lagarde. The first deadline for Athens is on 5 June, when it has to pay to the Fund a loan for 300 million euro, a part of share of EUR 1.6 billion due in total for the month to come. Of course, the deal continues to the bitter end, “but it is necessary that the Greek agreement is reached as soon as possible.” According to Murray, however, “the output of Athens from the Eurozone is not on the table.” And “we do not expect that to happen – he added – because the price would be very high.”

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