[ad_1]
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday that European governments should resist calls for more financial support from protesting farmers across the continent or they may regret it. He said no.
Publication of:
1 minute
Farmers in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Greece have staged several weeks of destructive but largely peaceful protests aimed at winning concessions from European leaders ahead of upcoming elections.
“You’re seeing farmers protesting. On a human level, you’re seeing them facing more hardships,” Georgieva said at a press conference at the International Monetary Fund office in Washington. , we understand that it is not easy to carry out their jobs.”
“But if that sentiment continues and governments are forced into a situation where the strength of their economies does not allow them to do what is necessary, they may regret it one day,” she added.
Thousands of farmers from across Europe staged a protest in Brussels on Thursday during talks on the “future of European agriculture” between French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. went.
After the summit, President Macron told reporters that France had succeeded in persuading the EU to “impose stricter rules” on grain and poultry imports, including from Ukraine.
Georgieva mentioned the protests during a wide-ranging news conference with reporters that touched on government debt levels, U.S. monetary policy and fund negotiations with Argentina, Egypt and Pakistan.
“I have spoken to many policymakers, especially the finance minister, and they recognize the importance of fiscal consolidation,” he said. “But they also realize how difficult it is to withdraw from support.”
“It’s easy to give, but it’s hard to take back,” she added.
He called on governments around the world to work to rebuild fiscal buffers depleted by the coronavirus pandemic by closing tax loopholes and assessing the quality of existing public spending.
(AFP)
[ad_2]
Source link
