Greece bailout: Future looks brighter for struggling economy as Yanis Varoufakis says he’ll meet all obligations to creditor nations
Greece's economic situation is on the brink of improving slightly, as long as finance minister Yanis Varoufakis sticks to his word.
Yesterday, he told the troubled country's creditor nations that Greece intends to “meet all obligations”, and that includes a €450m (£332m) loan repayment due to be made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday this week.
His words will help assuage fears that Greece is planning to use the money for wages and pensions rather than paying off its debts. Varoufakis says the government intends to “reform Greece deeply” and that it wants to “improve the efficacy of negotiations” with creditors.
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, was pleased with the news that the payment would be made on time. “I welcomed confirmation by the minister that payment owing to the Fund would be forthcoming on April 9th," she said in a statement.
Greece's future in the Eurozone has seemed uncertain recently, after the country submitted a list of proposals dismissed by creditor nations as being “more like a list of ideas” than something that could be put into action.
For Greece, it is crucial that its reform proposals are accepted by the rest of the Eurozone, since this will unlock the remaining €7.2bn (£5.3m) of bailout money it desperately needs.
Eurozone finance ministers are next meeting on 24 April to discuss the situation.