Continued economic tutelage for Greece

At the recent meeting of the Eurogroup, the statements of the chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, and the intentions of the representatives of the Member States of the euro area was clear: the IMF in Greece will remain a significant supervisory role and function in the post-season Memorandum, as guarantor, for the implementation of reforms in the country which will be agreed between the lenders and the Greek side for the next 12 months.

The post - Memorandum era, includes the strong presence of the IMF in the country - despite the contrary statements by government officials in recent months that the new phase will mean the end of the IMF and the Troika in Greece

The Greek government -and the parties that support it- is in an extremely difficult position, as it recently advocated the end of the Memorandum that will mean the departure of the IMF from Greece. Senior government officials including Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos, spoke about the removal of the IMF from the country, which participated in the program by repaying loans, since Greece would be able to approach markets.

The President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem at the press conference that followed the Eurogroup, repeatedly urged the Greek government to conclude the evaluation with the IMF, the EU and the ECB in order to pave the way for the determination of the solution that will be the preventive line of credit, but also to the debate on debt sustainability.

He clarified that the finance ministers of the euro plan to retain the funding line to Athens of the ESM, through enhanced credit line (Enhanced Condition Credit Line - ECCL), which has strict conditions and requires supervision. "It seems necessary to continue the involvement of the IMF in Greece because it strengthens the credibility of the program. Athens should talk with the Fund, to see what exactly will be the role, "said Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

The ferocity with which markets attacked Greece recently, with the rise in spreads and the fall of the Greek stock market shows, according to European officials-that the country has not persuaded that it is ready to withdraw safely from the Memorandum. The new agreement between Greece and creditors for the operation of the enhanced credit line (ECCL) which is in the final stretch, is for the EU and IMF essentially a safety net for a country that still has a credibility problem in the implementation of the commitments, the most recent example being the last Eurogroup, pushing to complete the final evaluation of the Memorandum. In addition, if there is a deterioration of the global economic situation and Greece id placed off markets, then the country will be secure and could use the funds of the Fund, which will be adopted rapidly and given a lower interest rate than the market.

In this context, Europeans, seek the IMF's role in a new format between Greece and creditors which seems to be ending up as a technical advisor to the ESM for the period during the operation of the enhanced credit line (ECCL) which will run . On the part of the Fund, there are strong disagreements about the role to be played in the new program and increased responsibilities, which are not restricted to the role of technical advisor, are being sought.