“This is presumably – and hopefully – a delay we can live with,” Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir said, asked about the delay of IMF’s budget approval, mbl.is reports.
Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir. Photo by Geir Ólafsson.
The government has now received a formal confirmation that the executive committee of the IMF will not be addressing the revision of Iceland’s budget before it closes for two weeks on August 7th.
“Hopefully the wait won’t be long, so that we can avoid the uncertainty. If this is just a matter of few weeks it shouldn’t have to impact us severely, as long as the revision will then be able to take place without obstruction. At the end of August, at latest” said Minister of Finance, Steingrímur J. Sigfússon.
Sigurdardóttir and Sigfússon held a press conference yesterday to discuss the delay. They emphasized the fact that the Icelandic government has fulfilled every requirement regarding the budget revision, such as presenting a state finance budget, agreements with the banks’ resolution committees, a plan for the refinancing of the banking system, and the signing of the Icesave agreements.
“This is a great disappointment to us,” Sigurdardóttir said, adding that hopefully this wouldn’t affect the Icelandic economy. Thankfully, our currency reserve is substantial.”
