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 Germany, the biggest contributor to Greece's two bailouts totaling
240 billion euro, said any extra spending on Athens' list of reforms
had to be offset by savings or higher taxes.
After a climbdown in Brussels to win the conditional four-month
agreement, the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared
the reform list would at least be decided by Greeks, in contrast to
the austerity policies dictated by foreign creditors since they
bailed out Athens in 2010.
"The list will include a series of reforms that the Greek government
will propose - and I underline that," said government spokesman
Gabriel Sakellaridis. "Above all, they will be socially just reforms
that aim to fight tax evasion, to fight corruption," he told Skai
television.
Saying the list would go to Brussels before the end of Monday,
Sakellaridis made clear Athens was anxious to avoid any last-minute
hitches in securing the funding needed to keep Greece afloat and
avoid an exit from the euro zone.
"We aim for this list to be accepted by the partners. This is why
there are consultations and discussions with the partners so that
there is a mutually beneficial solution," he said.
Tsipras has declared victory in Friday's deal, which is conditional
on Greece's European and IMF creditors accepting the reform list,
even though he had to accept an extension of the bailout program he
had promised to scrap.
But he drew withering criticism from veteran leftist Manolis Glezos,
a Syriza member of the European Parliament who attacked the failure
to fulfill Syriza's campaign promises and said simply changing the
deal's previously inflammatory wording would not soothe the public.
The deal renamed the "troika" - despised inspectors from the
European Commission, European Central Bank and International
Monetary Fund who monitored Greek compliance with bailout
commitments.
"Renaming the troika as 'institutions', the bailout as an
'agreement' and creditors as 'partners' ... does not change the
previous situation," he wrote in a weekend blog.
"I apologize to the Greek people because I took part in this
illusion," he said. "Let's react before it is too late."
A PAUSE FOR BREATH
The measures, which the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers
will consider in a teleconference, aim to raise revenue in ways
favored by Tsipras's leftist Syriza party, such as taxing the rich
as well as tackling tax evasion and graft.
Following a series of testy Eurogroup meetings, the international
creditors will scrutinize the reforms to ensure they comply with
another of Greece's concessions - that nothing it does during the
four months burdens the state budget.
"The ball is in the Greek government’s court," said German Foreign
Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "If Athens wants to see changes in
individual points, then that is okay. But if these changes lead to
further spending, then they need to save elsewhere or look to gather
more revenue."
Steinmeier noted the Eurogroup deal extended the bailout program
that had been due to expire on Feb. 28 only until the early summer.
"Europe has a chance to pause for breath – that’s all – this is not
a solution," he told Bild newspaper.
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Bild also quoted Greek sources as saying the planned reforms would
bring in more than seven billion euros, money Athens hopes to use
for easing the plight of Greeks worst hit by the austerity policies
of job and pension cuts.
It aims to raise 1.5 billion euros by fighting gasoline smuggling.
Taxation of rich Greeks and oligarchs is expected to bring in 2.5
billion, while enforcing regular taxation and recouping tax arrears
should also raise 2.5 billion euros. Most of the rest would come
from tackling cigarette smuggling.
With Greece unable to fund itself commercially, the opposition and
fellow euro zone member Ireland say Tsipras will have to negotiate a
third bailout when the extension expires.
LITTLE GAINED
The Brussels deal opens the possibility of lowering a target for the
Greek primary budget surplus, which excludes debt repayments,
freeing up some funds to help ease the effects of a long depression
which has pushed unemployment to 25 percent.
But otherwise, Athens gained little.
The criticisms by Glezos so far stand alone: there have been no
other signs of open dissent within Tsipras's party which continues
to enjoy strong support from the broader public.
That's good news for Tsipras, who now has to sell the Brussels deal
and an eventual long-term agreement with the euro zone not only to
voters but to Syriza's left wing and his junior coalition partner,
the right-wing Independent Greeks
However, while not a party heavyweight, Glezos does command moral
authority. As a young man under the World War Two occupation, he
scaled the Acropolis under the noses of German guards to rip down a
Nazi flag and hoist the Greek flag, making him a national hero.
His decision to break ranks drew an abrupt response from the
government.
"Manolis Glezos is someone whom we will never cease to honor," said
Sakellaridis. "But ... I believe that yesterday's statement in
particular was misguided and wrong."
(additional reporting by Alexandra Hudson and Michael Nienaber in
Brusssel; Writing by David Stamp; Editing by Sophie Walker)
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