Germany firm on Greece issue

TOKYO- Reuters

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde talks to Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble at the Tokyo International Forum Oct 12, 2012. REUTERS photo

Germany held firm on Oct. 12 in insisting it was too soon to say Greece deserved more time to meet its budget-cutting goals even as the head of the IMF laid out the case for leniency. Greece, Spain and the euro zone’s slow progress toward debt reform was centre stage at International Monetary Fund meetings despite Europe’s best effort to step out of the spotlight.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, sitting next to Germany’s finance minister, said Athens needed more breathing space. “Given the... lack of growth, given the market pressure, given the efforts that have been undertaken, a bit more time is necessary,” she said, amplifying on remarks made on Oct 11.

 In a softening of earlier advice, the IMF has argued that forcing Greece and other debt-burdened countries in Europe to reduce their deficits too quickly is counter-productive because it hurts the economy.

Shift welcomed by some

The shift was welcomed by some emerging market countries as well as long-time critics who say that the tough conditions attached to IMF loans inflict undue economic pain and make it harder for countries to grow their way out of debt.

“We have been arguing for some time that single-minded and draconian fiscal policies may be counterproductive and have a tendency to backfire,” said Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega.
But Germany, Europe’s largest creditor country and the key to any lasting fiscal reforms, pushed back and said reversing course on promised deficit reductions would weaken credibility.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Europe had made plenty of crisis-fighting progress, echoing comments from other European officials who said there should be greater attention paid to U.S. fiscal troubles. He criticized Lagarde for calling for flexibility even before the “troika” of Athens’s lenders -- the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank -- wrap up a review of their 130 billion euro bailout program for Greece.

“Until we have the troika report, we must not speculate,” he said.

Lagarde and Schaeuble shared the stage as part of a panel discussion, their first public joint appearance since the IMF head surprised investors on Thursday by stating unequivocally that Greece and Spain needed more time.

Spain’s economy minister, Luis de Guindos, said there was “absolutely” no political resistance from within the euro zone to a Spanish bailout request, an apparent reference to Germany. Spain is under pressure to seek a bailout as it struggles to rein in central government spending.

U.S. officials have expressed support for giving European countries extra time to deal with their debt.