Pertenecer tiene sus privilegios

Transcript of a Press Conference by International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn
with First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky, and External Relations Director Caroline Atkinson

QUESTION: Let me repeat the question I made to you last year in Istanbul, if I can.
Why Argentina still doesn't accept to make the Article IV despite it is a member of the G-20 and a member of the IMF Board? And despite Istanbul; and more importantly, if the staff or the Board are thinking of any kind of punishment or sanction if this situation continues without any change in the status quo?

MR. STRAUSS-KAHN: You asked the question last year. What did we answer last year?

QUESTION: You answered last year that would be the last time that I will have the chance to ask you this.
[Laughter]

MR. STRAUSS-KAHN: Good point. Very good point. So, to follow what I say, I won't answer. I will ask John to answer.

MR. LIPSKY: Let's think of this in formal terms. Membership in the IMF carries obligations under the Articles of Agreement, one is consultation. This is an undertaking that is an obligation to members, not to Fund staff, not to Fund management. So, this is an issue that will have to be addressed by the membership. I am sure that we are all hopeful that Argentina will once again take its place among countries, I think the rest of the membership that have normalized relations and regular consultations with the Fund, we're very hopeful we're moving in that direction.
Of course, as a member of the G-20, Argentina also has accepted, implicitly, the obligations. I don't know if obligation is the right legal word. But, the membership of the G-20 have undertaken to undergo FSAPs, Financial Sector Assessment Programs, every five years. We're hopeful that this will move forward in a positive way. But, again, let me emphasize this is issue for the membership