skip to main content

Greece to send reforms list to EU tomorrow after missing deadline- sources

Alexis Tsipras' government is walking a tightrope between its commitments to creditors and its electoral pledges
Alexis Tsipras' government is walking a tightrope between its commitments to creditors and its electoral pledges

Greece will present its economic reform plans to the euro zone tomorrow, a government official said, missing today’s deadline for the list which is a condition for extending the country's financial lifeline.

The official gave no reason for the delay but said euro zone finance ministers would consider Greece's plans, which include a crackdown on tax evasion and corruption

In Brussels a euro zone official said the "content of the letter will not be a surprise" to the euro zone and therefore tomorrow's submission was not a major issue.

Greece has said it was working closely with its euro zone partners in drawing up the list.

Germany, the biggest contributor to Greece's two bailouts totalling €240 billion, insisted earlier that any extra spending on Athens's list of reforms had to be offset by savings or higher taxes.

The government of radical leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras staged a climb-down on Friday to win the four-month extension of Greece's bailout, which had been due to expire on 28 Feb.

Mr Tsipras had promised to scrap the programme when he won election last month.

Earlier in the day, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis had said the list of reforms would go to the Eurogroup by the end today meeting the deadline set under Friday's deal in Brussels.

Athens has stressed the reforms would at least be decided by Greeks, in contrast to the austerity policies dictated by foreign creditors since they bailed out the country in 2010.

The official later said: "The list of reforms will be sent to the finance ministers of the Eurogroup on Tuesday morning, while a teleconference will take place in the afternoon."

The measures will include tackling what Mr Tsipras calls Greece's "humanitarian crisis" - hardship created during years of economic depression - while dealing with tax arrears and bad loans, and ending the foreclosure of primary homes, the official said.

They will also crack down on tax evasion, smuggling and corruption, restructure the public sector and cut red tape.

The list will also include parts of the government’s “Thessaloniki programme" which in total envisages spending of €1.8 billion over a full year on relief measures such as free electricity and meals for the poor, while raising €3 billion from steps such as collecting tax arrears.

Mr Tsipras has declared victory in Friday's deal.

But veteran leftist Manolis Glezos, a Syriza member of the European Parliament, accused him of failing to fulfil Syriza's campaign promises.