"Take the installment, change everything in the state"

An endless list of recommendations and requirements is contained in the report of the IMF envoys, in order for the go-ahead for the release of the fifth installment of loans to be given to the country.

In short, the Fund requests changes in everything within the Greek state in order to give its approval for the sixth installment in September, which would have to have been met by then in order to deal with the country’s borrowing needs for the 2012-2014 period.

The report was submitted in Washington by the team’s leader, Paul Thomsen, after the Memorandum’s fourth review and is to be examined on the 8th of June by the directors of the fund, under Christine Lagarde’s first tenure as director. There, the 3.3 billion loan to Greece will be proposed.

According to reports, the authors of the report stress that that program has yielded significant results. They note, however, that they cannot ensure the viability of the programme on their own. For that reason, they find it necessary for Greece to go through a radical and thorough reform of the mechanisms and functioning of the state.

The report stresses the need to proceed with direct structural changes, especially large changes in the tax assessment identification mechanism. The IMF requests changes in the tax system but also a new Privatization Fund to achieve the targets set in the Medium Term plan.

Despite doubts and uncertainties, the authors of the report are recommending the granting of the fifth installment, considering that the program funding is secured, mainly due to the political decisions of Greece’s European partners to provide extra help and solutions to comprehensively address the Greek debt.