The International Monetary Fund is grappling with questions about what role it will play in a European-led rescue of Greece.
Days after euro zone leaders agreed to provide coordinated loans to Greece with the help of the IMF, officials at the Washington-based lender were unclear over how the fund’s resources would be tapped and how it would impose the sort of conditions that normally come attached to its financial aid.
In its first comments since the EU announcement, the IMF said on Friday, “We are following developments closely.”
The dilemma for the IMF is that Greece falls under the jurisdiction of European Union rules and is a member of the euro zone where monetary and foreign exchange policies are dictated by the European Central Bank. That makes it difficult for the IMF to set policy prescriptions backed by its money.
Under the accord, Athens would receive bilateral loans from other euro zone countries and the IMF if it faces severe difficulties.
A senior IMF official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Greece was not expected to request IMF aid just yet.
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said on Thursday Greece would prefer to get funding from financial markets.
The European Union said it would shoulder about two-thirds of the funding to Greece and the IMF about one-third.
Uri Dadush, senior associate at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said there was no clarity as to who would lead the intervention.
“While I greatly welcome the IMF’s involvement as a big step forward, nevertheless, the agreement as outlined has enormous ambiguity and therefore is unlikely to have the desired effect on the market,” said Dadush.
