The European Union's ambassador to Lebanon, Ralph Tarraf, urged for the swift implementation of reforms, warning that further delays will lead to continued depreciation of the exchange rate, rising inflation, and a decline in the reserves of Lebanon's central bank. He added that social conditions will become increasingly untenable. "It is not too late for Lebanese decision makers to address the crisis and to put Lebanon on the path to recovery," he stated on Twitter.
Last Thursday, the International Monetary Fund indicated that the Lebanese economy is facing an "unprecedented" currency, sovereign, and banking crisis that has persisted for more than three years, noting that insufficient measures have been taken to address it. The Fund's report, following the conclusion of its 2023 Article IV consultations with Lebanon, mentioned that the country's economy has contracted by about 40% since the beginning of the crisis, while the local currency, the lira, has lost 98% of its value and the central bank has lost two-thirds of its foreign currency reserves.
