Rift between IMF and Eurozone leaders puts Greece’s bailout in limbo
Eurozone’s Stalled Talks Leave Greece in Limbo (SETimes.com)
A rift between IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Eurozone finance ministers over whether to grant Greece a two-year extension to meet fiscal targets has delayed release of a 31.1 billion euro loan installment as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the country is running out of cash fast.
After talks broke down in Brussels following a 12-hour meeting Thursday (November 21st), Samaras, who had pushed through parliament a wildly-unpopular 13.5 billion euro spending cut and tax hike plan ordered by international lenders, complained Greece had kept up its end of the bargain.
“Greece did what it had committed it would do. Our partners, together with the IMF, also have to do what they have taken on to do,” Samaras said. “Any technical difficulties in finding a solution do not justify any negligence or delays.”
He added, “It is not just Greece but the whole of the Eurozone that depends on our partners’ decisions.”