Greece delays reform presentation by 24 hours, unveils summary after press leaks
The Greek authorities have revealed an outline summary of measures demanded by eurozone leaders in order to secure a bailout extension.
The reforms include plans to combat tax evasion and tackling fuel and tobacco smuggling. Greek officials said they were releasing the summary before formally submitting it to guard against leaks to the press, says BBC.
Later Tuesday the list must be approved by international creditors in order to to secure a four-month loan extension. Greece had previously delayed presenting the reforms by 24 hours after initially agreeing to deliver its proposals to creditors on Monday.
According to analysts, the deal's collapse would revive concerns over "Grexit" - Greece leaving the euro zone.
The summary released on Monday evening contains widely anticipated measures - proposals to trim the civil service and combat corruption. Moreover, it included a commitment to address what Syriza has called Greece's "humanitarian crisis".
The main points of the summary are:
- Creating a fairer tax system
- Combating tax evasion
- Tackling corruption
- Targeting fuel and tobacco smugglers
- Implementing labour reforms on collective contracts and bargaining agreements.
- Tackling Greece's "humanitarian crisis" with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed.
On Friday Greece agreed to extend its financial rescue programme with eurozone countries for four months. The extension deal is widely recognized as a major climb-down for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who won power in January vowing to reverse budget cuts. Prime Minister said in a televised address the following day that his government had "won a battle, not the war", calling the deal an "important negotiating success" but warned that there was a "long and difficult road ahead".
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said the bailout agreement will be "dead" if the list of reforms his government is drafting is not approved.
