The 19 euro zone members Eurogroup, said in April that all the final details on the Greek bailout program — due to end in August — will be decided no later than June 21, when the finance ministers next meet.
Michalis Psalidopoulos, Greece’s representative at the IMF, told the state-run Athens-Macedonian news agency Sunday that it is likely the Fund will only be a technical advisor in the program.
This is because bureaucratic procedures within the IMF require time to approve a financial disbursement, and as the days go by it gets increasingly difficult to do so before the end of the program in August.
The Financial Times also reported Friday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party had dropped its insistence on having the IMF on board.
The Fund added however that talks on Greek debt relief will continue.
“The IMF argues that investors will not be reassured that Greece’s public finances are on a sound footing and that its debt is not sustainable without serious debt relief. While it has agreed with Greece’s euro zone creditors that there will be no reduction of debt principal, the IMF wants a more radical extension of maturities and grace periods.
Eurogroup President Mario Centeno told Reuters over the weekend that the Greek debt deal will be credible to markets.
