Greece debt: EU says reform proposals 'valid'

Greece is a step further on its way to receiving a bailout extension after its list of proposed reforms was backed by one of its key creditors.

Top European Commission officials called the proposals "sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point". European finance ministers are set to discuss the list shortly. Greece needs approval from international creditors to secure a four-month loan extension.

Newly elected Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to balance satisfying the demands of creditors with meeting his pre-election pledges. His government wants to clamp down on tax evasion, corruption and inefficiency in order to fund social spending and alleviate what it calls Greece's "humanitarian crisis".

'No roll back'

The statement from Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici signals the support of one member of the so-called troika that has supervised Greece's financial rescue. The other members are the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The statement urges Greece to "refrain from any roll back of measures and unilateral changes to the policies and structural reforms that would negatively impact fiscal targets, economic recovery or financial stability, as assessed by the institutions" of the troika.

The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers were to discuss the list in a conference call on Tuesday at about 13:00 GMT.

Greek proposals

- Combat tax evasion.

- Tackle corruption.

- Commit not to roll back already introduced privatizations, but review privatizations not yet implemented.

- Introduce collective bargaining, stopping short of raising the minimum wage immediately.

- Tackle Greece's "humanitarian crisis" with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed, with no overall public spending increase.

- Reform public sector wages to avoid further wage cuts, without increasing overall wage bill.

- Achieve pension’s savings by consolidating funds and eliminating incentives for early retirement - not cutting payments.

- Reduce the number of ministries from 16 to 10, cutting special advisers and fringe benefits for officials

Earlier Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference the list had been received on time, contrary to news reports of a delay.

He did not give an assessment of the list, but said the Greek government was "very serious" about meeting its reform commitments and had demonstrated an "unequivocal commitment to honour its financial obligations".

The process would not be easy and the list of reforms was just a "first step" towards rebuilding trust between Greece and European creditors, Mr Dijsselbloem said.

(Πηγή: www.bbc.com)