Schaeuble cautions Greece on IMF criticism

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday that it was not in Greece’s interest to question the involvement of the IMF in its bailout programme, after the Greek prime minister said the global lender was not playing a constructive role.

Alexis Tsipras accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of making unrealistic reform demands on Greece. Schaeuble was asked about the issue at a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.

Schaeuble, who has been critical of European Commission plans for a bank deposit guarantee scheme, also told reporters that this issue should only be discussed at a later stage. He said the scheme would cover cooperative and savings banks.