Poul Thomsen

Greece went into last Monday's Eurogroup hoping for the conclusion of the second review, a disbursal of the next bailout tranche, an agreement on debt relief and a path to the European Central Bank's quantitative easing (QE) scheme, paving the way for a return to the bond markets and an exit from the adjustment program.

Poul Thomsen, the IMF’s Director of the European Department towed the line of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble after the completion of the EuroGroup, late Monday, stressing that even though the measures passed by the Greek government were sufficient, a reliable program was necessary for a debt relief. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Mr.

The International Monetary Fund needs to see more realistic eurozone assumptions about Greece's economy and more detail on planned debt relief measures to join a bailout, IMF's European Department head Poul Thomsen said.

Thomsen said the IMF and Greece's eurozone lenders made progress in talks on Monday, but were not yet quite there.

The International Monetary Fund needs to see more realistic euro zone assumptions about Greece's economy and more detail on planned debt relief measures to join a bailout, IMF's European Department head Poul Thomsen said.

Thomsen said the IMF and Greece's euro zone lenders made progress in talks on Monday, but were not yet quite there.

Representatives of Greece's international creditors on Monday night remained locked in talks at a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels where both bailout funding and the debt question were on the table.

An initial meeting, involving all eurozone finance ministers, yielded a mostly positive assessment of Greece's adoption of a series of prior actions, according to sources.

The head of the EuroGroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem disclosed the content of the April 7 Malta EuroGroup agreement between Greece and its creditors. In a letter he sent to the EuroGroup members Mr. Dijsselbloem presented the results of the Malta meeting. With regards to Greece the official meeting covers the following:

4. Greece – State of play

Greece’s major opposition party New Democracy (ND) released a statement regarding the two parcel bomb attacks against European and IMF officials in the past two days stressing Greece’s international image had been seriously damaged. The statement alleged the two incidents attempted to frame ND by linking the two parcel bomb senders to the conservative party.

UPD: 18:07

In a not so subtle jab at European officials and their dealings with Greece, the IMF on Feb. 23 issued a warning against pretending that "unpayable debts" can be repaid.

In a blog written by the International Monetary Fund's chief Greece negotiator, its chief economist, and its general counsel, the fund rarely mentions the crisis-ridden country by name.