Complaint from Germany over the Paris Club

La Nacion

Complaint from Germany over the Paris Club

 

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

 

The German government yesterday again complained to Argentina over the payment of the debt of US$3.1 billion in the context of the Paris Club that remains in default since 2001.

 

According to sources in the Berlin government, cited in yesterday’s edition of the economic newspaper Handelsblatt, the administration of Angela Merkel renewed its claim to the government of Cristina Kirchner, not having met any success until now.

 

"Since the financial crisis of 2001, Argentina has not made any payments to settle its debt with Germany,” said the German Finance Ministry when questioned by Joachim Pfeiffer, expert in economic policy from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Merkel’s party.

 

According to the report, which was reprinted by Handelsblatt, the German Finance Ministry estimates that Argentina’s current obligations are 2.43 billion euros, equivalent to US$3.1 billion.

 

Officials are aiming to get the government of Cristina Kirchner to negotiate the payment of its bilateral debt, after the decree that it never implemented to pay that balance in cash with Central Bank reserves, in September 2008.

 

"But Argentina has not shown until now itself to be willing to do it,” according to the document from the German ministry, revealed yesterday.  

 

Of the US$9 billion acknowledged during the last technical negotiation round, Germany is the main creditor, with 30%, and Japan is second, with 25%; Holland, with 9%; Italy and Spain, with 8%; and the United States with 7%.  The rest belongs to other European countries.

 

The government didn’t move forward with a concrete proposal, as the Club asked for through various documents, but informally it has communicated to various foreign officials that it wants one dollar invested in the country for every dollar it pays.  This could turn into the reopening of credit for trade and public works, after 12 years.