The International Monetary Fund estimated on Friday that Greece faced a financing gap of between €5.5 billion and €9.5bn for 2015 and 2016 and said it had assurances from Europe it would deliver the aid in the final years of the bailout. It was the first time the IMF had estimated possible financing needs for Greece’s bailout programme beyond 2014.

Tensions between the IMF and Europe flared in November over how to reduce Greece’s large debt load, which threatened to delay the next aid tranche to Greece. Questions also arose over whether Europe would continue to support Greece without further reforms, prompting concerns that Athens would exit the eurozone.