Troika bails on Greece meeting as 2014 budget doubts emerge
THE TROIKA of Greece’s international lenders will delay a visit to Greece that was planned for this week, casting doubt over the country’s 2014 budget.
Over the weekend, finance minister Yannis Stournaras confirmed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) European Commission and European Central Bank (ECB) would put off a planned meeting in Greece.
The move comes as Moody’s upgrades the embattled Mediterranean economy’s credit rating by two notches, citing good progress on fiscal consolidation.
Without approval from the Troika, the Greek finance ministry will not receive the next tranche of international aid from its lenders. The country is likely to have a continuing funding gap through the second half of 2014. ECB board member Joerg Asmussen rejected calls from Greek politicians earlier this year to roll over €4.5bn (£3.73bn) of debt to plug the gap.