Principality of Andorra: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2021 Article IV
April 8, 2021
A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.
The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.
Washington, DC:
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Ms. Srobona Mitra,
conducted virtual discussions during March 19 ‒ April 8 in the context
of the 2021 Article IV consultation.
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At the end of the visit, the mission issued the following statement:
The Principality of Andorra, the IMF’s newest member since October
2020, participated in its first Article IV consultation with a
commitment to further enhance transparency. Tourism and banking related
services dominate economic activity in this euroized economy. The
country enjoys long-standing political stability, a good track-record
of fiscal discipline, a gender-balanced work force, and internationally
competitive ski resorts. The authorities managed the pandemic well with
universal testing and expanded hospital capacity that kept fatality
rates very low. This strategy helped Andorra implement more targeted
internal restrictions than the neighboring countries. At the same time,
emergency fiscal measures stabilized real incomes and supported firms.
The authorities are highly engaged in transitioning to a green and
digitalized economy and more diversified tourism services. They are
negotiating an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU),
having transposed almost all the financial sector regulations in the EU
as part of the Monetary Agreement. The authorities successfully started
producing balance of payments data, in record time, working closely
with the IMF.
The pandemic has taken a considerable economic toll and policy
discussions focused on securing a lasting recovery. Emergency fiscal
support should remain in place until a recovery has set in and a
sufficient share of the population have been vaccinated in both Andorra
…
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