The chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday she was satisfied with the cooperation between the IMF and European Union (EU) lenders, amid recent criticism about flaws in the relationship. The IMF started a partnership with the European Commission and the European Central Bank—collectively known as the "troika"—several years ago to mitigate the debt crisis in Europe and prevent it from spreading to the rest of the world. "The troika relationship has been of a very unusual and exceptional nature, just as the crisis has been," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told a Washington news conference. "But it has been of constant cooperation, solid cooperation. I am very happy with the cooperation." The three lenders joined to rescue Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Cyprus, but also have seen friction related to divergent rules and modes of operation. Earlier this month, the IMF said some aspects of the first rescue package to Greece might have been handled better, including a restructuring of Greek privately held debt. The acknowledgement angered European Commission officials, who said the IMF should not play a role in euro-zone rescue packages in the long-term.
