IMF makes final effort for a debt deal

Germany and the International Monetary Fund are engaged in a last-ditch effort to bridge their differences and end the impasse so that a deal can be reached on the easing of Greece's debt that will allow for the immediate participation of the IMF in the Greek program.

The head of the Fund's European program, Poul Thomsen, arrived in the Belgian capital on Tuesday for a series of contacts with eurozone officials, and according to sources has also visited Berlin in the last few days to meet with German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.

As a eurozone official told Kathimerini, "there is a certain convergence" of views, though not a deal as yet. The main disagreement is over the IMF wanting an automatic and front-heavy application of the debt-easing measures that would not be tied to political criteria. Berlin, on the other hand, wants the measures to apply gradually, and only...

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