Dallara: “If no agreement is reached, Greece will default”

Charles Dallara spoke to protothema.gr and other international media representatives at a presser, in order to clarify certain points of the deal talks and set the record straight concerning his departure from Athens and the “noise” around it created by Greek media.

Thus, he stressed that if anything goes wrong and the bond swap deal is not finally reached, then the country will indeed default. «If Greece does not bag a deal, it will be pretty unfortunate as it would mean the country, Europe and the international economy would roll back down the slope again. The most probable scenario that could follow is Greece defaulting, its EU membership being endangered and the country being left out of the international markets for many years. The euro currency will be shattered and the other countries will treat the euro ones with caution. Even Spain, Portugal and Italy will face problems and dealing with the debt will be tougher.”

As for the duties of the Greek government, Dallara’s message was unambiguous: “the Greek leadership is trying hard. The fiscal changes it has achieved in the past three years are great and a broader restructuring is in effect, too. Nevertheless, some reforms were not implemented on time.”

Finally, the IIF head said he believes that Greece needs a wind of change which would freshen up its restructuring programe. What matters is for the country to agree with the IMF and the European Commission and pave the way for a freer Greek economy which will safeguard the future of the people.”