IMF-Berlin deal still no closer

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has lowered expectations about the participation of the International Monetary Fund in the Greek program and the extent of Greece's debt relief, while European Commission mission chief Declan Costello warned Athens against slowing down with reforms after the end of the program.

Against hopes cultivated for a deal at the meeting on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada this weekend to see the IMF enter the program, Scholz told Reuters that Berlin's decisions on the Greek debt will take time.

"We are revising our final estimates and will make our decisions at the end of June," he stated, in contrast to the time frame the IMF has set for its decisions, in early June.

According to the Fund's charter, a disbursement will have to come after a review, which is impossible if the agreement on the debt takes place at end-June. "There...