The IMF board announced in mid February that the voting rights of Zimbabwe would be restored after seven years of suspension for unpaid debt, meaning that Zimbabwe can now participate in Fund decision making. However, Zimbabwe still had $140 million of outstanding debt at the end of 2009 and its access to IMF funds remains curtailed. The IMF decision represents a vote of confidence in the coalition government of prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai and president Robert Mugabe. Conversely, the European Union has now renewed its sanctions against Zimbabwe on the grounds of poor governance.