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International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This paper presents IMF’s Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangements, Request for Modifications of Performance Criteria, and Second Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) Arrangement for Moldova. The recovery from adverse spillovers from Russia’s war in Ukraine and energy price shocks is taking hold. Growth picked up in 2024 and is expected to strengthen further in 2025, driven by robust domestic demand. Downside risks remain high, mainly related to Russia’s war in Ukraine and renewed energy shocks. While quantitative performance of the program has been strong, implementation of structural reforms has been uneven. Further reforms to enhance fiscal performance and the allocation of public resources, strengthen energy security, strengthen governance and the rule of law, and advance climate adaptation and mitigation are key to protect Moldova against shocks and improve its growth prospects.
Vivek B Arora
,
Miguel de Las Casas
,
Yasemin Bal Gündüz
,
Jérémie Cohen-Setton
,
Kelsie J Gentle
,
Jiakun Li
,
Carmen Rollins
, and
Sandra Saveikyte

Abstract

The evaluation assesses the EAP’s rationale, evolution, and implementation during the period since its adoption in 2002. It assesses whether the EAP has fulfilled the objectives that guided its creation, namely, shaping members’ and market expectations, providing clearer benchmarks for Board decisions on program design and exceptional access, safeguarding the Fund’s resources, and helping to ensure uniformity of treatment of members. The evaluation draws on background papers comprising both thematic and country studies that draw on experience with the 38 exceptional access programs completed through mid-2023. The thematic papers analyze the rationale and evolution of the EAP as well as the three building blocks of the policy: the exceptional access criteria, enhanced Board decision-making procedures, and ex post evaluations. The country papers comprise both cross-country studies and country-specific studies of the completed programs with Argentina (2018), Ecuador (2020), and Egypt (2020).

International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This paper presents Ukraine’s Fifth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Requests for Waivers of Applicability of Performance Criteria, Modification of Performance Criterion, Rephasing of Access, and Financing Assurances Review. Ukraine’s economy remains resilient, and performance remains strong under the EFF despite challenging conditions. The authorities met all end-June quantitative performance criteria and completed four structural benchmarks. Looking ahead, the recovery is expected to slow amid headwinds from the impact of the attacks on energy infrastructure and the continuing war, while risks to the outlook remain exceptionally high. Preparedness is necessary to enable appropriate policy action should risks materialize. Continued exchange rate flexibility under the managed exchange rate regime will help strengthen the resilience of the economy to external shocks. Sustained reform momentum, domestic revenue mobilization, and timely disbursement of external support are necessary to safeguard macroeconomic stability, restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and enhance institutional reforms.
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This paper discusses Ukraine’s Fourth Review of the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Request for Modification of a Performance Criterion, and Financing Assurances Review. Ukraine’s performance remains strong under the EFF despite challenging conditions. All quantitative performance criteria for end-March were met, and all structural benchmarks through end-June were implemented on time or with a short delay. The Ukrainian economy continues to be resilient although the outlook remains subject to exceptionally high uncertainty. Sustained reform momentum and timely disbursement of external support are necessary to safeguard macroeconomic stability, restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and enhance institutional reforms to lay the path to European Union accession. Timely and predictable external disbursements together with strong domestic resource mobilization and careful liquidity management are necessary for Ukraine to meet its financing needs. Fiscal policies for the remainder of 2024, together with preparation for the 2025 budget, should be underpinned by steadfast revenue mobilization efforts aligned with the National Revenue Strategy.
Ekaterina Gratcheva
and
Bryan Gurhy
This paper evaluates the progression of the sovereign ESG landscape since the initial comprehensive assessment of the sector in 2021 in “Demystifying Sovereign ESG” by conducting a comparative analysis of the current sovereign ESG methodologies of commercial ESG providers. The 2021 study articulated the distinct nature of the sovereign ESG segment from corporate ESG and documented fundamental shortcomings in sovereign ESG methodologies, such as the “ingrained income bias”, lack of consensus on environmental performance, and conflation of risk and sustainability objectives. While sovereign ESG methodologies have evolved since 2021, the significant correlation across providers of aggregate, S, and G scores persist. In response to market demand there has been a notable shift towards greater focus on the E pillar against growing heterogeneity on climate and environmental considerations across ESG providers. The findings underscore the disparity between perceptions and realities in implementing a sustainability strategy within the sovereign debt asset class. This necessitates a reevaluation of sovereign ESG scoring methodologies towards outcome-based metrics and urges a globally coordinated effort to establish robust sustainability measurement frameworks.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Selected Issue paper documents the recent episode of food inflation and food insecurity in Belize. The paper also overviews what policies were announced in Belize and the Caribbean during the recent cost-of-living crisis; and discusses the policies Belize could implement to protect its most vulnerable households from the threat of food insecurity going forward. It discusses the appropriate policies to protect vulnerable households from food price inflation going forward based on economic theory and best practices and estimates how much it would cost the government of Belize to protect the vulnerable population against a rise in food prices like the one in 2022. The authorities should evaluate the impact of the recent policy that regulates mark-ups on essential goods by wholesale and retail operators when they have sufficient data. The limits on the mark-up for 32 essential goods were introduced to limit the increase in food prices and avoid monopolistic practices.
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This paper presents Ukraine’s Third Review of the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Requests for a Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion, and Modifications of Performance Criteria. The EFF continues to provide a strong anchor for the authorities’ economic program, which has remained on track despite extremely challenging circumstances due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The authorities also met all structural benchmarks through end-February, underscoring their continuing commitment to an ambitious reform agenda. The Board approved the authorities’ request for a waiver for nonobservance of the December performance criterion on tax revenues, which was missed by a minor amount. The ongoing war continues to strain Ukraine’s public finances. External disbursements on appropriate concessional terms, together with strong domestic resource mobilization are necessary for Ukraine to meet its financing needs and secure fiscal and debt sustainability. Stronger revenue mobilization, underpinned by the recently approved National Revenue Strategy, while avoiding measures that erode the tax base, will be critical to secure fiscal sustainability.
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
Bien que sa croissance ait bien résisté aux chocs ces dernières années, le Togo fait face à un niveau élevé d’insécurité alimentaire et d’attaques terroristes, et ses besoins en matière de développement demeurent considérables. Les déficits budgétaires et la dette ont augmenté, ce qui a eu pour effet d’annuler la baisse de l’endettement obtenue au cours de la période de l’accord FEC de 2017–20, de réduire la marge de manoeuvre budgétaire et les réserves permettant d’absorber les chocs, et de contribuer aux vulnérabilités au sein de l’Union économique et monétaire ouestafricaine (UEMOA). Deux banques sous-capitalisées, l’une publique et l’autre récemment privatisée, font peser des risques sur la stabilité du secteur financier et sur les finances publiques. Les autorités sollicitent un soutien financier de 200 % de la quote-part du Togo (293,60 millions de DTS) dans le cadre d’un accord au titre de la FEC d’une durée de 42 mois.
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper discusses Togo’s Request for a 42-Month Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Togo continues to face headwinds, following a series of shocks in recent years. The ECF-arrangement will help accelerate poverty reduction, maintain macroeconomic stability, and catalyze further external financing, benefitting Togo and thereby contributing to the macroeconomic and external stability in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The authorities will strengthen debt sustainability through a large fiscal consolidation in line with a dual fiscal anchor. By providing and catalyzing concessional financing for budget purposes, the program will help ease trade-offs between enhancing inclusion through higher social spending and strengthening debt sustainability. It will also help maintain macroeconomic and external stability in the WAEMU. In order to support growth and limit fiscal and financial sector risks, the authorities will strengthen public financial management, improve the business environment, and ensure the reform of the remaining state-owned bank that was not completed under preceding programs.