Greek crisis: A step closer to aid deal?

Athens is expected to present its international creditors with a draft list of reforms Wednesday, in an effort to unlock much-needed additional aid, government officials said, according to reports.

Talks between cash-strapped Greece and its international lenders, the International Monetary Fund and European Union, have been deadlocked over demands for Athens to implement reforms such as pension cuts and liberalizing the labor market.

"Potentially this is a step forward," Nomura Senior Political Analyst, Alastair Newton, told CNBC Wednesday. "It is pretty clear that (Greek Prime Minister) Alexis Tsipras is prepared to meet creditor demands."

The sidelining this week of outspoken Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, from the head of Greece's negotiating team has also been viewed as a step by Athens to move the negotiations forward.           

The draft bill on Greek reforms is not expected to offer major new concessions beyond those already discussed, Reuters reported Wednesday, but will add details on measures to address corruption and tax evasion.

"Plunging popularity and serious cash constraints are pushing the Greek government towards a deal in May, represented by a shakeup of the government's negotiating team and a number of reforms that will be pushed through parliament as early as tomorrow," Mujtaba Rahman, practice head of Europe at Eurasia Group, said in a note.

Nomura's Newton said Greece now faced two key questions.

"The first is: will Greece come up with something that goes far enough to appease creditor countries. And two: assuming Tsipras can do that, can he secure a parliamentary majority at home to pass the bill?" he said.

Since 2010, Greece has received two financial aid packages worth some 240 billion euros ($258 billion), overseen by the European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank (ECB).

Greece has some major debt repayments looming in the weeks ahead, however, and a new tranche of aid is seen as key to avoiding a sovereign debt default that could trigger its exit from the euro zone. For instance, the country needs to repay loans of about 1 billion euros to the IMF in May.

Eurasia Group's Rahman also said that its pension’s bill would be the sticking point. "We think only partial reform will happen before June, enough to secure interim funding and limit serious defections from the governing coalition," he said.

Tsipras this week also threatened to call a referendum if Greece's lenders insist on demands viewed as unacceptable by his left-wing government, which was elected in January on an anti-austerity mandate.

"June will be a more critical flashpoint, where the risks of a referendum and government collapse are increasing," said Rahman.

(Πηγή: cnbc.com)