IMF Could Back Away from Greek Bailout if Debt Deal is Not Agreed

Greece and its eurozone partners agreed to a third bailout last summer

by Ben Wright
Telegraph.co.uk

Poul Thomsen, the head of the International Monetary Fund’s European department, has raised the prospect of the IMF downgrading its involvement in Greece’s latest bailout to a “monitoring” role if an agreement is not reached on debt relief.

Greece and its eurozone partners agreed to a third bailout last summer but the IMF has yet to sign up. Some European countries, and Germany in particular, have warned they may abandon the bailout if the IMF refuses to participate.

Mr Thomsen said the discussions taking place at the IMF’s spring meeting have so far focussed on which new policies – such as tax increases, spending cuts and economic reforms – the Greek government will adopt in order to achieve a budget surplus of 3.5pc of economic output by 2018. This target was set as a condition of its latest bailout.

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