Brussels, 29/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - Fresh from her appointment as the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF), France's Christine Lagarde will be fully involved in discussions for a second bailout for Greece. The former French minister for the economy, who knows the situation of the three eurozone countries which have received international financial aid (Greece, Ireland and Portugal) like the back of her hand, will take up her duties in Washington on Tuesday 5 July. She will not be representing the IMF at the extraordinary meeting of the Eurogroup on Sunday 3 July, which has been convened to take stock of the situation in Greece now the Greek Parliament has definitively taken position on the budgetary strategy 2011-2015, involving additional austerity measures worth €28 billion as recommended by the Greek government (see other article). Lagarde may, on the other hand, be back to Europe to attend the Eurogroup meeting of Monday 11 July. The eurozone ministers will be called upon to decide on the details of a second bailout for Greece of around €110 billion, working closely with the IMF, if the scenario mapped out by the institutional creditors of Athens goes as expected.
Reacting extremely promptly on Tuesday evening, the Greek finance minister, Evángelos Venizélos, wished her the “best of luck on behalf of the Hellenic government”. The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, stressed Lagarde's “expertise, experience and talent”, and her “determination to move European integration forward” against a backdrop marked by the financial crisis. His counterpart at the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, welcomed this “very good news for Europe”.
With nearly 40% of the voting rights at the IMF and the support of the United States, which has a right of veto, the Europeans have managed to keep their influence on the IMF. However, the emerging countries have openly tried to challenge the custom that the Europeans lead the IMF and the United States the World Bank. Nonetheless, they did not manage to rally behind a single candidate, such as the governor of the Central Bank of Mexico, Augustín Carstens. Lagarde has pledged that she will continue the policy of the IMF to give the emerging countries a role in the institution more in line with their economic weight. (M.B./transl.fl)