French President Emmanuel Macron has said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should step back from its role in European bailouts.<br /><br />His comments mark a break away from a widely accepted policy adopted after Greece, which came close to crashing out of the Eurozone in 2015, sought international financial aid seven years ago.<br /><br />Macron, who met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens on Thursday, backed Germany’s idea of a European Monetary Fund, saying he believes that dealing with economic shocks in the Eurozone should be the prerogative of Eurozone member states.<br /><br />The French President, who is calling for a giant leap forward in European cooperation, pressed for greater financial solidarity towards the bloc’s more vulnerable members.<br /><br />Speaking in Athens, he said: “The presence of the IMF was a symptom of the lack of trust between European states, between European institutions and the member states.<br /><br />“However, the IMF is here and it’s a very important institution, but I don’t think it is within its remit to intervene in European issues.”<br /><br />During his visit to the Greek capital, he also called for an easing of the country’s debt burden.<br /><br />The IMF has participated in two of Greece’s three foreign bailouts since 2010 in exchange for unpopular austerity measures.<br /><br />Tsipras also backed the creation of new European Institutions to resolve European financial problems.<br />
