IMF worried that ‘Brexit’ could paralyse EU decision-making on Greek bailout
The International Monetary Fund expects that a possible Greek default on its bailout will coincide with the UK’s referendum on membership of the European Union, according to a leaked transcript.
WikiLeaks said it had obtained details of a discussion last month between the top two IMF officials in charge of managing the Greek debt crisis – Poul Thomsen, the head of the IMF’s European department, and Delia Velculescu, the IMF mission chief for Greece.
The whistleblowing organisation said the discussion showed that the IMF was planning to tell Germany it will abandon the troika (composed of the IMF, the European commission and the European Central Bank) if the IMF and the commission fail to reach an agreement on Greek debt relief.
The IMF officials say that a threat of an imminent financial catastrophe was needed to force other players into accepting its measures such as cutting Greek pensions and working conditions, but that the UK referendum on 23 June will paralyse EU decision-making at a critical moment, according to the records.
The UK referendum was said to add a complication that needed to be negotiated around – delaying a possible “moment of truth” until after the June vote.
Greek finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos has accused the IMF of imposing draconian measures, including on pension reform.
