IMF not pleased with Greece, but IEO watchdog criticizes the fund’s self-defeating reforms

An internal memo circulating around the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to an article in German magazine Der Spiegel, gives an analysis of Greek reforms and states displeasure concerning delays.

German newspaper Deutsche Welle states that the document in Der Spiegel’s possession refers to danger that the bailout instalment benchmarked for Greece may be “blocked”.

The article, that is to be published on Saturday, states that Athens had voted on a series of bailout measures so that the ‘green light’ could be given for a bailout payment, however only a small portion of these laws have actually been implemented.

The IMF’s memo estimates that 2/3 of reforms are still on the table without having been informed. Experts point to the early elections held on September 20 as reason for the delay. As a result, the review that was to have taken place in October may be delayed for December. By then, Greece may have greater credit problems than the ones it currently faces.

The 3-bln-euro instalment may be delayed due to the lagging reforms.

IMF under fire

Meanwhile, the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office that is the independent watchdog that supervises the fund’s activities states that the IMF had pushed through self-defeating austerity measures on the crippled Greek authority. The IEO states that the IMF should have implemented debt restruction arnd paid more attention to the political costs of its punishing austerity policies in Greece.