UK's Cameron backs IMF call for Greek debt relief

[Bosonic]

Source: Reuters

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday said that Greece needed to be granted relief from its debts, backing an International Monetary Fund study on the subject.

The IMF on Tuesday said Greece needs far more debt relief than European governments have been willing to contemplate so far.

"The point they [the IMF] are making that there needs to be debt relief for Greece must be right," he told parliament.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2015/Jul-15/306786-uks-cameron-backs-imf-call-for-greek-debt-relief.ashx

[Bosonic]

1. France agrees with the IMF about Greece's impossible debt burden

France agrees with the IMF about Greece's impossible debt burden

French finance minister Michel Sapin just opened up what could be a political rift between Paris and Berlin.

"The IMF is saying the same thing as we are," Sapin said on French TV on Wednesday morning according to Reuters, adding: "We cannot help Greece if we maintain the same debt reimbursement burden on the Greek economy."

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Greece's debt burden seen by Reuters says that "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."

That means debt relief will be necessary for Greece, in one way or another. The bailout deal that Athens has just started signing up to puts that option on the table, but only once Greece has successfully started to implement the painful reform, privatisation and austerity measures agreed.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/france-agrees-with-the-imf-about-greeces-impossible-debt-burden-2015-7#ixzz3fxXVWs9H

[Ironing Man]

2. politics 1.0

everyone - even Germany - believes that Greek debt is unpaybackable (word?), however none of these brave souls challenging the neo-liberal blah blah blah is prepared to allow Greece to not pay back money Greece owes to them.

France wants Germany, the Netherlands, Finland etc... to do the decent thing on Greek debt, but if Hollandé turned up to the French parliament and asked for Greek debt on France's balance sheet to be wiped off he'd be roared out of the place - by the same MP's who claim solidarity with Greece...

Cameron is a slightly different position - the UK government owns almost no Greek debt whatsoever, though some UK banks own around €10bn...

i think the IMF is in the same position as France - demanding that Debt relief be given, but also demanding that it not be IMF debt thats written off...