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AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky
Bailout
Greece critical of EU and IMF after official visit
Greek government issues statement saying it only takes orders “from the Greek people”.
GREECE HAS TOLD EU AND IMF officials to quit interfering in its national affairs, following a visit by representatives of each organisation.
In May, the EU and IMF agreed a €110bn bailout plan with Greece. The EU and IMF expect Greece to raise €50bn between 2011 and 2015 through the privatisation of state assets.
Reuters reports that the Greek government has described the behaviour of EU, IMF and ECB officials as “unacceptable” and said they should not “interfere in domestic affairs”.
The statement continued: “We only take orders from the Greek people”.
On Friday, IMF mission chief Poul Thomsen criticised some of those who were protesting post-bailout austerity measures in Greece, saying that they were hiding behind the “privileges that allow them to extract high price, impose a big burden on the rest of society”.
The EU and IMF have emphasised that Greece should focus on revamping its tax system and selling assets to pay its debt, Bloomberg reports.
An EU-IMF team travelled to Ireland last week to review the state’s adherence to its bailout pledges. A report issued by the IMF following that visit said that Ireland was deemed to have met the first targets of the joint agreement, but still had significant challenges ahead.
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