Greek withdrawal from the eurozone

The International Monetary Fund is optimistic on Greece's growth and employment prospects for this year, but is urging the government to stick to reforms to maintain the momentum.

In a report published Friday following five-day talks with officials in Athens, IMF officials say that the battered Greek economy is set to grow 2.4 percent this year, up from 2.1 percent in 2018.

Kevin Featherstone, Eleftherios Venizelos professor of Contemporary Greek Studies at the London School of Economics, expressed sharp criticism about the uncontrollable populism in Greece and the UK in an interview with Kathimerini.

Greece came very close to exiting the eurozone in the summer of 2015, former French president Francois Hollande has admitted in an interview with Kathimerini. Grexit was no bluff. It was, he says, a Plan B that had been drafted, at the behest of German Chancellor Angela Merkel following the decision by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to hold a referendum on Greece's bailout terms.

Greece could learn a lesson from the United States and deregulate its economy to push for stronger growth as it emerges from three international bailouts, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday.

"The fundamental reason why the Greek crisis lasted so long was the extreme level of austerity that was imposed." That is the verdict of Ashoka Mody, visiting professor in International Economic Policy at Princeton University, a former deputy director of the International Monetary Fund's European Department and one of the most eloquent critics of the policies of the troika in Greece and elsewhe

For once Europe has an exit to celebrate rather than dread. On Monday, more than eight years after its first eurozone bailout, Greece left its third financial rescue program. This is a welcome Grexit, but before popping open the champagne it's important to remember that Athens remains in thrall to its European creditors, who have failed to put the Greek economy on a sustainable footing.

I remember my relief when euro area leaders agreed with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on an ESM assistance package in the early morning of 12 July 2015. This formed the basis for the new programme for Greece, which euro finance ministers approved on 19 August 2015.

Greek bond yields rose to three-week highs on Tuesday, after the International Monetary Fund said that while euro zone debt relief has made Greece's public debt sustainable over the medium term, there was uncertainty over the longer-term outlook.

European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici is sticking to his positive take on the economic situation in Greece, claiming in an interview with Austrian magazine Profil that there is scope for more social justice in Greece.

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday issued a clear warning to the Greek government against its plans to reintroduce collective labor negotiations, saying that such a move would put the competitiveness of the Greek economy at risk.