Greece presents economic reform plans to Europe

Greece has sent a list of economic reform plans to European institutions and the International Monetary Fund which could serve as “a valid starting point” for talks over its bailout, a source close to the European Commission told the Reuters news agency.

The European Commission confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday that the list of Greek reform measures had been received on time.

Greece needed to present its plans as a condition for extending its bailout programme for an additional four months, in a deal struck with eurozone partners on Friday.

“In the Commission’s view, this list is sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful
conclusion of the review,” the source told Reuters.

“We are notably encouraged by the strong commitment to combat tax evasion and corruption,” the source added.

Eurozone finance ministers are expected to discuss the reform plans in a conference call later on Tuesday.

The source said that the letter, sent to the Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF, would now need to be further worked out to come up with a full reform plan by the end of April, as agreed on Friday.

Greek officials said the government was proposing measures which would include tackling what Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called Greece’s “humanitarian crisis”, hardship created during years of economic depression.

The government would also deal with tax arrears and bad loans, and end the foreclosure of primary homes, while fighting tax evasion, smuggling and corruption.

Tsipras declared victory in Friday’s deal but faced criticism from his own ranks.

Germany, the biggest contributor to Greece’s two bailouts totalling $271.85bn insisted earlier that any extra spending on Athens’s list of reforms had to be offset by savings or higher taxes.

Tsipras had promised to scrap the programme when he won election last month, but his government was forced into a climbdown on Friday to win the four-month extension.