The European Commission and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the permanent bailout fund of the Eurozone, see no reason for an "alarmist" assessment of the viability of the Greek debt, the two institutions said after an internal IMF document was leaked.
In this document, the International Monetary Fund predicts that the Greek debt could mushroom to 275% of GDP by 2060. By 2020, the Washington-based institution forecasts Greek debt to stand at 170% of GDP, dropping to 164% two years later.
We believe that Greece's debt burden can be manageable, if the agreed reforms are fully implemented, thanks to the ESM's exceptionally favourable loan conditions over the long term and the recently adopted short-term debt relief measures", an ESM spokesperson said at the weekend.
These measures, according to the calculations of the ESM, should allow a cumulative reduction of the debt/GDP ratio for Greece of around 20% up to 2060 and a reduction of the gross self-financing needs for Greece at a level in the neighbourhood of 5% over the same timescale. On Monday 30 January, the Commission pointed out that the Europeans had pledged to support Greece with additional debt relief after the ESM programme, under the condition that this is necessary and that Greece has implemented all the agreed programme reforms. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)