Greece prepares to submit draft reforms to Eurogroup
Greece has been busily preparing a list of draft proposals which are crucial in extending its rescue programme, ahead of tomorrow's deadline for its submission to the International Monetary Fund and EU institutions.
The reforms, which will be largely "structural", are expected to focus on curbing things like tax evasion and corruption, as well as streamlining the civil service, according to comments made by a Greek public official.
It follows a last-minute deal brokered on Friday after talks between Greece and European finance ministers. Accepting a conditional extension of its bailout program will be vital if Athens is to avoid bankruptcy.
But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said later in a televised address that the government had "won a battle, not the war. The difficulties, the real difficulties … are ahead of us."
"The negotiation is now entering a new, more substantive stage until a final agreement on the transition from the disaster of the bailout austerity measures, to policies of employment, development and social cohesion," he said.
However, some members of the Syriza-led coalition criticised the government officials for diverging from its mandate, saying the bailout programme was being repackaged rather than fundamentally changed.
