The decision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to suspend the provision of financial assistance to Greece until a new government is formed, after the general elections of January 25, was revealed by the Fund’s Director of the Communications Department, Jerry Rice, only a few hours after the failure of the election of a new President of the Hellenic Republic by the Greek Parliament. Mr. Rice added, however, that this development will not affect the economic situation in Greece. “Discussions with the Greek authorities on the completion of the sixth review of the program that is being supported by an Extended Arrangement will resume once a new government is in place, in consultation with the European Commission and the European Central Bank,” an e-mailed statement said. “Greece faces no immediate financing needs,” Mr. Rice’s announcement added. It should be noted, that on Saturday Germany’s Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaueble, called on Greece to move forward with the arranged reforms, noting in an interview with Bild newspaper that “any newly elected government must respect the commitments of its predecessors.” “Greece has made huge progress since 2009. We must have more respect for the country,” said the German Finance Minister. “We will continue to assist Greece while it deals with the hard reforms,” he added, noting that the country’s debt situation will not change in the case of snap elections. “The upcoming elections will not change the Greek debt. Each new government must respect the agreements made by its predecessors,” he repeated.
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