European Parliamentarians Engage with IMF

  • Parliamentarians agree on need to continue growth boosting agenda
  • Rise in productivity in Eastern and Southeastern Europe needed to help tackle unemployment
  • Regular engagement with IMF key element to building public support for reforms
  • Parliamentarians from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine discussed the major challenges facing the region, as well as country-specific issues, with IMF staff at a three-day seminar in Vienna, Austria on March 2-4, 2016. At the seminar, jointly organized by the JVI and the IMF, parliamentarians discussed the economic state of play in their countries, the outlook, and policy challenges with the IMF’s Resident Representatives from the respective countries. Broader issues, including the refugee crisis and energy subsidy reform, were also discussed.

    IMF staff lecture (IMF photo).

    Structural reforms needed to boost growth

    Presenting the key economic issues in the region, Bas Bakker, IMF Senior Regional Resident Representative for Central and Eastern Europe, said that overall GDP growth was expected to remain modest at best. Seminar participants agreed on the importance of implementing structural reforms in their countries to boost growth, increase productivity, and create jobs. A common theme was the need to reform inefficient and non-transparent state-owned enterprises, tackle corruption, increase efficiency, and privatize state businesses. Parliamentarians called for further pension reforms in their countries.

    A presentation of the findings of an IMF study on the refugee surge in Europe offered a timely perspective on the economic challenges facing countries directly affected by the current influx of refugees. Parliamentarians called for a comprehensive approach to the crisis that takes into account economic, social, and security aspects. Several parliamentarians warned against severe repercussions for the European Union, with some expressing concerns that it would bring the enlargement process to a halt.

    Bosnia and Herzegovina: Implementing the reform agenda

    Parliamentarians drew attention to the reform efforts of the country, noting that a comprehensive agenda had been adopted recently. They, however, also pointed to the country’s highly complex governance structure, which complicates decision-making processes and the implementation of reforms. Francisco Parodi, IMF Resident Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina urged parliamentarians to focus on the quality of the measures...

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