IMF bail-out plans face 'serious challenges' due to 'ineffective' EU An IMF staff report published on Tuesday revealed tensions behind negotiations over rescue and austerity programmes for beleaguered eurozone countries when the ultimate political responsibility for measures is controlled by EU institutions. The fund has been part of the "troika" along with the European Commission and European Central Bank, contributing €120bn (£96bn) to the €403bn of bail-out programmes for Greece, Ireland and Portugal over the past two years. IMF officials found the eurozone's convoluted decision-making processes slow and, at key moments, bail-outs were overruled by the Commission and ECB as they threatened stability in the single currency's banking system. The fund has argued that private investors and banks should shoulder their share of losses to ease the debt burden on governments facing bankruptcy. While the EU has ruled out debt restructuring to preserve the eurozone's integrity, the IMF sees writing down or renegotiating debts as an important way of making public finances sustainable, especially in Greece and Ireland. A commission spokesman said: "We have a very good working relationship and the report does not just focus on debt restructuring."