Houliarakis questions IMF’s demands for more measures

Greece’s Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis told Parliament on Thursday that the government is baffled about the demands being made by the International Monetary Fund as part of the first bailout review.

Houliarakis argued that the macroeconomic data based on which last year’s agreement was made have improved and that this means the IMF should not be demanding new measures.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotis adopted an identical stance when he addressed MPs earlier in the day.

“It is very difficult for us to understand why the IMF is asking for many more measures compared to what was agreed in the summer, when the memorandum was signed, given that the economic conditions have improved notably since then,” he said.