Greece to submit list of reforms to international lenders

The Greek government is preparing to present a list of reforms to lenders in order to secure a bailout extension.

The list to be submitted on February 23 must be approved by international creditors to secure a four-month loan extension.

Analysts say a collapse of the deal would revive fears of a Greek exit from the euro.

Minister of state Nikos Pappas said the list would include measures to tackle tax evasion and streamline the civil service.

German newspaper Bild, citing an unnamed source, reports that Greece aims to recover 7.3 billion euros ($8.3 billion) with measures to combat tax evasion.

A spokesman for the German finance ministry, Martin Jaeger, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency that Berlin expected the Greek plan to be “coherent and plausible”.

Greece agreed at a meeting with its EI and IMF lenders on February 20 to submit the list of reforms before February 24.

Bild, Germany’s biggest-selling newspaper, was publicly attacked on February 20 by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis who remarked about an earlier story: “One must believe @BILD’s tall stories [about Greece] at one’s peril.”

In a new article, the newspaper breaks down what it says is a tax hit list devised by the Greek government.

It will reportedly seek to raise 2.5 billion euros from the fortunes of rich Greeks, 2.5 billion from back taxes owed by individuals and businesses, and 2.3 billion from a crackdown on tobacco and petrol smuggling.

Martin Jaeger said the Greek reform plan, once received, would be examined by Greece’s three creditors – the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the IMF.

Once the three lenders had delivered their opinion, it would be discussed by eurozone finance ministers in a conference call on February 24, he said, according to Reuters.

Yanis Varoufakis has said the bailout agreement will be “dead” if the list of reforms his government is drafting is not approved.

The new Greek government, led by PM Alexis Tsipras, was elected by promising to reverse austerity.

The four-month extension deal is widely regarded as a major climb-down for PM Alexis Tsipras, who won power vowing to reverse budget cuts.