EU releases reform demands on which Greece will vote

(BRUSSELS) - The EU made public on Sunday reform proposals that were rejected by the far-left government in Athens in bailout talks but which will be put to Greek voters for approval next week in a referendum.

"In the interest of transparency and for the information of the Greek people, the European Commission is publishing the latest proposals agreed among the three institutions (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund)," the commission, the EU's executive arm, said in a statement.

The statement, written in English and Greek, makes no reference to the referendum that Greece will be holding on July 5, but spells out the reforms demanded of Greece in return for urgently needed bailout cash.

The referendum on bailout proposals by Greece's creditors was approved by the parliament in Athens late Saturday night.

The proposed referendum would ask Greeks to say "yes" or "no" to the measures submitted by creditors to Athens on Friday at one of the final rounds of negotiations that have been ongoing since February.

In a tweet, an EU spokesman said Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker would hold a press conference at 1045 GMT on Monday.

In its statement, the commission also said the Greek government unilaterally ended those talks late Friday with the call for a referendum.

"Neither this latest version of the document, nor an outline ... could be formally finalised and presented to the Eurogroup due to the unilateral decision of the Greek authorities to abandon the process on the evening of 26 June 2015," the statement said.

This reiterated arguments made Saturday by angry eurozone ministers, who accused Athens of breaking off negotiations that had almost reached a positive conclusion.

The proposals, referred to as "prior actions" in the bailout jargon, include many reforms Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has bitterly refused.

"The people must decide free of any blackmail," the 40-year-old prime minister said in a televised address to the nation late on Friday.

"We were asked to implement austerity measures... allowing the deregulation of the labour market, pension cuts, and an increase in VAT on food products, targeting the humiliation of an entire people," Tsipras said in his address.