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The Progressive

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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)
Contact:

Dan Beeton, 202-239-1460

Greece's Deferred Payment to IMF is an Important Development, CEPR Co-Director Says

Surprise move Shows that Troika Can't Dictate the Terms of an Agreement

WASHINGTON

The Greek government's decision to defer payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) represents an important development for Greece's negotiations with the European authorities and its efforts to emerge from the economic downturn that has persisted since the Global Recession of 2008-2009, CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said today.

"This shows that the troika, and the ECB especially, is not holding all the cards, as many had thought," Weisbrot said. "The Syriza-led government in Athens meanwhile is demonstrating that 'elections have consequences,' and that the European authorities--who are mainly responsible for more than six years of depression in Greece--will also have to compromise."

Greece will bundle its debt payments into a single payment due at the end of June, according to IMF spokespersons. In so doing, Greece is the first country to defer a payment to the IMF, in this manner, since the 1980s.

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