Reform Proposals Ready For Creditors
- by XpatAthens
- Friday, 06 March 2015
Greece's government prepared reform measures on Sunday to secure a financial lifeline from the euro zone, but was attacked for selling «illusions» to voters after failing to keep a promise to extract the country from its international bailout.
Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has insisted Greece achieved a negotiating success when euro zone finance ministers agreed to extend the bailout deal for four months, provided it came up with a list of reforms by Monday.
Greeks reacted with relief that Friday's deal averted a banking crisis which fellow euro zone member Ireland said could have erupted in the coming week. This means Tsipras has stood by one promise at least: to keep the country in the euro zone.
Tsipras maintains he has the nation behind him despite staging a climbdown in Brussels. Under the deal, Greece will still live under the EU/IMF bailout which he had pledged to scrap, and must negotiate a new programme by the early summer.
"I want to say a heartfelt thanks to the majority of Greeks who stood by the Greek government ... That was our most powerful negotiating weapon,» he said on Saturday. "Greece achieved an important negotiating success in Europe."
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