European Union backs IMF view over Greece – then ignores it

Greece needs serious debt relief, not token measures: it is about time lenders accepted that piecemeal measures are pointless when debt ratios reach 200%

The good news for the International Monetary Fund, which has been saying for ages that Greece's debts are unsustainable, is that European lenders now seem to agree.

There are "serious concerns" about the sustainability of the country's debts, the three European institutions negotiating the latest bailout said on Thursday. They think Greece's debts will peak at 201% of GDP in 2016, which is roughly what the IMF said a month ago when it projected a high "close to 200% of GDP in the next two years".