The Greek government is facing increasing pressure to accept a privatization agreement in the face of mounting debt-financing costs in order to receive additional international aid, according to Financial Times. On Monday, the International Monetary Fund insisted that talks with Greek officials are still ongoing despite the government’s reluctance to expand a program of privatization. The finance minister of Greece, George Papaconstantinou has been pressured to accept harsher terms for the disposal of €50 billion in fully state-controlled controlled assets.
The IMF assured markets, “The talks are continuing and making progress,” despite the recent statement Greek government’s concern over the strictness of the European Union and IMF terms. The negotiations come as European Central Bank executive board member Jurgen Stark issued a strong warning “against underestimating the massive harmful effects a debt restructuring would cause of the country and for the eurozone as a whole.” He went on to call the idea of a restructuring as a simple solution “an illusion.”
Click here to read the story on the Greek plan from Financial Times.
Click here for coeverage of Stark’s coments from The Daily Telegraph.