EU & IMF's men in black arrive in Dublin

The European Commission, the IMF and ECB, are refusing to reveal the identities of the team which landed in Dublin 17 November to oversee Ireland’s austerity and budget plans, reports the EUobserver.com. EU economy spokesman Amadeu Tardio would only say, "There will be more than two but fewer than 10 people going.” He added that "These people do not do press conferences." Mr Tardio was echoed by Esther Miltenia, a spokeswoman for the European Central Bank, who said, "People do not need to know who these inspectors are.” In a further development, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov openly contradicted Irish government claims that no formal request for an EU/IMF bailout has been made. “"I expect a bailout decision to be taken within a week," he said.