The Europeans were also concerned that the report could distract attention from a view they share with the IMF that the Tsipras government, in the five months since it was elected, has wrecked a fragile economy that was just starting to recover.

„It wasn‘t an easy decision,“ an IMF source involved in the debate over publication said. „We are not living in an ivory tower here. But the EU has to understand that not everything can be decided based on their own imperatives.“