Leading candidate for US envoy to EU: ‘Strong reason for Greece moving away from euro’

armstrongeconomics.com IMF-Logo

Naftemporiki —  US President Donald Trump’s choice for America’s ambassador to the European Union told Bloomberg over the weekend that there’s a “very strong reason for Greece moving away from the euro“.

Well-known academic and business consultant Ted Mallock added that although he’s not “privy” to the IMF’s view on the Greek program, he has had discussion on the matter.

He was queried on the Trump administration’s view over the IMF’s role in Greek bailout package.

“… I believe there is friction, frankly, about whether there should be a bailout and who’s responsibility that bailout would be, and why Greece continues in that the same kind of stagnating situation that it’s found itself over the last period ” he said, reminding initially that he has still not assumed any role in the current US administration.

Asked by the Bloomberg anchor if the country should leave the Euro zone, he said: “I don’t want to speak for the Greeks, but from an economist’s perspective there is a very strong reason for Greece moving away from the euro”.

The IMF holds a crucial board meeting on Monday (today) to discuss whether it will participate in Greece’s current bailout program, the country’s third in seven years. The I.M.F. has been squaring off with Greece’s European creditors over debt calculations and austerity conditions that Greece must meet to receive  loan payments needed to pay interest on the received loans that were used to bailout the banks. If the IMF decides to adhere to its own regulations and withdraw from the programme, Germany threatens to  throw the bailout off course  pushing Greece into crisis and potential Grexit.