Waterloo, Canada — As the world braces for Greece’s potential departure from the European Union and Euro zone, and a state referendum this weekend, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) releases the following quotes, available for media use, from global economy experts on the situation in Greece:
“Despite the current deadlock, there are still margins for a last ditch agreement reached on the finishing line. At any rate, one cannot equate a moratorium on external payments to exiting the Eurozone.” – Domenico Lombardi, Director of CIGI's Global Economy Program
“The Greek referendum is a farce. Voters are asked for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on an outdated bailout agreement proposed by the creditors that is no longer on the table. In reality the referendum is about the euro, but the government does not dare admit it because the majority of the Greek people want to stay in the Euro area. Mr. Tsipras overplayed his hand and now wants to shift the blame for the botched negotiations to voters.” – Miranda Xafa, CIGI Senior Fellow
“Greece will be burdened with an even greater need for austerity outside the Euro zone than inside so Grexit can hardly be seen as attractive at any level for the Greek people. However, the worst possible outcome for both Greece and the Euro zone would be a patched together compromise between Greece and its creditors that does not contain strong reforms to put the Greek supply side on a growth path. The focus on the part of all official discussion needs to shift away from over-attention to short-term fiscal austerity to long term supply-side boosting reform.” – Susan Schadler, CIGI Senior Fellow
ABOUT THE EXPERTS:
Susan Schadler, CIGI Senior Fellow, is a former deputy director of the International Monetary Fund’s European Department, where she led surveillance and lending operations to several countries and managed a number of research teams working on European issues.
Domenico Lombardi, Director of CIGI's Global Economy Program, is formerly a senior scholar at the Brookings institution and an executive board member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Miranda Xafa, CIGI Senior Fellow, is also chief executive officer of E.F. Consulting, an Athens-based advisory firm focusing on Euro zone economic and financial issues. From 2004 to 2009, she served as a member of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
For more information on CIGI’s experts, please visit https://www.cigionline.org/experts
MEDIA CONTACT: Tammy Bender, Communications Manager, CIGI
Tel: 519-998-1861, Email: [email protected]
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank on international governance. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was founded in 2001 by Jim Balsillie, then co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit www.cigionline.org.
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