Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-07 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Dijsselbloem: IMF report on Greece 'unnecessarily pessimistic' [02] ND slams minister for saying Greece's inclusion in QE is a 'secondary issue' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Dijsselbloem: IMF report on Greece 'unnecessarily pessimistic' The recent IMF report saying that Greece's debt load is unsustainable was "unnecessarily pessimistic," Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday. According to reports in Reuters and "The Guardian", Dijsselbloem said he was "surprised" by the IMF's most recent review of Greece while speaking on Dutch television, while he suggested this was outdated due to recent Greek growth. Dijsselbloem said that Greece's creditors, which include the IMF as well as Eurozone members, would still be prepared to ease terms of Greece's debt further, if the country continues to cooperate on reforms. At the same time, he ruled out any forgiveness of principal debt. [02] ND slams minister for saying Greece's inclusion in QE is a 'secondary issue' New Democracy strongly criticized State Minister Christoforos Vernardakis on Tuesday for saying that the issue of Greece's inclusion in the European Central Bank's quantitative easing is "secondary" for the country, noting that these statements are "irresponsible and opportunistic". "Since October 2016, Mr. [Alexis] Tsipras stated it was 'absolutely imperative' to enter quantitative easing. Mr. [Yiannis] Dragasakis had stated it was imperative to be included in quantitative easing by March 2017, so as not to lose the deadline to return to the markets in 2018. Now Mr. Vernardakis says Greece's inclusion … is a secondary issue. Their behavior is irresponsible and opportunistic," the party said. Speaking to Real FM radio station earlier in the day, Vernardakis was quoted as saying: "Quantitative easing is a minor issue at the moment. It does not follow that if we are not included in March, there will be no life after this."