IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva praised the European Union’s recent economic performance, noting that seven of the world’s best‑performing economies were EU members last year. In an interview with Politico, Georgieva highlighted The Economist’s year‑end list, where Portugal topped the EU, followed by Ireland, Greece and others, and urged Europe to stop underestimating itself. She said the continent’s growth shows it is not destined for decline and that optimism is warranted. Georgieva also referred to the Greenland dispute with the United States, where a symbolic deployment of European soldiers preceded President Trump’s withdrawal, underscoring the need for decisive European action. The IMF echoed former ECB chief Mario Draghi’s warnings about a “slow agony” if the EU fails to reform, and called for consolidating the single market, easing business regulations, integrating the energy market and strengthening financial systems. She cautioned against disruptions to the global monetary system from US asset sales and supported the idea of a common EU debt expansion, a view shared by Draghi but viewed skeptically by Germany and the Netherlands. The remarks come as the IMF continues its work with Ireland, Portugal and Greece, all of which were under IMF supervision during the eurozone crisis.

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