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Greece debt crisis: Eurozone 'backs reform plans' Greece debt crisis: Eurozone backs reform plans
(35 minutes later)
Eurozone finance ministers have approved reform proposals submitted by Greece in order to gain an extension of its bailout, officials say.Eurozone finance ministers have approved reform proposals submitted by Greece in order to gain an extension of its bailout, officials say.
"National procedures for extension of the Greek programme can begin," EU Euro Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Twitter after a conference call. The Eurogroup said it had agreed to proceed with national procedures - parliamentary votes in several states to give the deal final approval.
Parliaments in several member states will now vote on whether to approved the four-month bailout extension. The measures proposed by Greece include combating tax evasion and tackling the smuggling of fuel and tobacco.
Another commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, said an immediate crisis was averted. The European Commission said earlier they were a "valid starting point".
Eurozone finance ministers - known as the Eurogroup - then held a conference call before giving their backing to the Greek proposals.
"We call on the Greek authorities to further develop and broaden the list of reform measures, based on the current arrangement, in close co-ordination with the institutions," the Eurogroup said in a statement.
However, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde was quoted as expressing reservations about the reform proposals.
"In some areas like combating tax evasion and corruption I am encouraged by what appears to be a stronger resolve on the part of the new authorities in Athens," she wrote in a letter to the Eurogroup.
"In quite a few areas, however, including perhaps the most important ones, the letter is not conveying clear assurances that the government intends to undertake the reforms envisaged."
Newly elected Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to balance satisfying the demands of creditors with meeting his pre-election pledges.
His government wants to clamp down on tax evasion, corruption and inefficiency in order to fund social spending and alleviate what it calls Greece's "humanitarian crisis".