Greece was on course to win a four-month extension of its euro zone financial rescue yesterday after backing down further to its partners on key leftist reforms and promising that measures to alleviate social distress will not derail its budget.
Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem convened a telephone conference of finance ministers of the currency bloc to seal the decision after the new leftist-led government in Athens sent him a detailed list of reforms it plans to implement by July.
The six-page document signed by Marxist Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis rowed back on campaign promises to halt privatisations, boost welfare spending and raise the minimum wage, vowing to consult partners before key reforms and keep them budget-neutral.
The European Commission called the Greek letter “sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review.” Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling, a conservative fiscal hawk close to Germany, forecast a positive outcome from the teleconference.