But, said Georgieva, their current success is proof that countries, and the EU as a whole, can change their economic trajectories.
Asked whether Europe should consider retaliating against U.S. aggression by selling off assets like government bonds, a suggestion included in a recent analyst report from Deutsche Bank, the senior official urged caution.
“I would say that the smooth functioning of the international monetary system is of value to all countries,” she said. “Disturbing that smooth functioning of the international monetary system with the same token can bring negative impact.”
The Bulgarian boss of the Washington, D.C.-based fund did, however, back a deeper pool of joint EU debt — an idea favored by Draghi but regarded with suspicion by frugal countries like Germany and the Netherlands.
As for the disbursement of $8.1 billion in IMF funds to Ukraine to help the country meet its financing needs, Georgieva said she was aiming to hold an IMF board meeting in the second half of `February at which the board could approve the program and start paying out funds. Though the amount is relatively small — less than a tenth of the €90 billion that the EU has agreed to lend to Ukraine — IMF approval is a signal of confidence for financial markets.
The IMF chief also said that a meeting “is scheduled” with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding the situation in Venezuela, and that it would happen in the “nearest future.”
The IMF stopped working with Venezuela in 2019. The fund estimates that the South American country’s economy, battered by U.S. sanctions and plagued by mismanagement, has shrunk to a third of its previous largest size. Since the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at the start of the year, it has floated the possibility of allowing Venezuela to access IMF financing again.