ATHENS: A secret International Monetary Fund study showed Greece needs far more debt relief than European governments have been willing to contemplate so far as fractious parties in Athens prepared to vote on a sweeping austerity package demanded by their lenders.
The IMF’s stark warning on Greece’s debt was leaked as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras struggled to persuade deeply unhappy leftist lawmakers to vote for a package of austerity measures and liberal economic reforms to secure a new bailout. In an interview with state television, he said although he did not believe in the deal, there was no alternative but to accept it to avoid economic chaos.
The study, seen by Reuters, said European countries would have to give Greece a 30-year grace period on servicing all its European debt, including new loans, and a dramatic maturity extension. Or else they must make annual transfers to the Greek budget or accept “deep upfront haircuts” on existing loans.
The Debt Sustainability Analysis is likely to sharpen fierce debate in Germany about whether to lend Greece more money, while it will be seen by many in Greece as a vindication of the government’s plea for sweeping debt relief. A Greek newspaper called the report a slap in the face for Berlin.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble made clear in Brussels on Tuesday some members of the Berlin government think it would make more sense for Athens to leave the euro zone temporarily rather than take another bailout. The Greek Finance Ministry said it had submitted the legislation required by a deal Tsipras reached with euro zone partners on Monday to parliament for a vote on Wednesday.
Assuming Athens fulfils its end of the bargain this week by enacting a swathe of painful measures, the German parliament is due to meet in a special session on Friday to debate whether to authorise the government to open new loan negotiations. “The dramatic deterioration in debt sustainability points to the need for debt relief on a scale that would need to go well beyond what has been under consideration to date – and what has been proposed by the ESM,” the IMF said, referring to the European Stability Mechanism bailout fund.
An EU source said euro zone finance ministers and leaders had been aware of the confidential IMF figures when they agreed on Monday on a roadmap to a third bailout. IMF MD Christine Lagarde was present but the IMF did not make the updated assessment public, in contrast to a previous study that was released in Washington on July 2.
