Greek bailout review set to drag on for months
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem dealt a blow to the hopes of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of excluding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from the country’s bailout programme.
Last month Tsipras publicly urged the IMF not to take part in the third bailout agreed last summer. The Greek PM told the Financial Times he was “puzzled by the unconstructive attitude of the fund on fiscal and financial issues”.
Athens believes the eurozone is now in a position to take full responsibility of supervising Greece. Dijsselbloem, however, told reporters on January 7 2016 that the IMF’s role is crucial. “You cannot have a programme without the participation of the IMF. The Fund has the intention to return to the programme as a participant and not just as a technical consultant, it intends to take part in the financing,” the Eurogroup chief said.
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