Whatever the outcome is, a disproportionately large share of the financing of these rescue mechanisms is being and will continue to be borne by Germany by virtue of the country’s top rating and the high degree of confidence it enjoys among investors.
The IMF has played an important role since the onset of the sovereign debt crisis – by co-funding assistance programmes, but also by contributing to a thorough analysis of the root causes of the economic weaknesses in the programme countries. EU finance ministers committed in December 2011 to providing additional resources for the IMF as part of a broader international effort.