Eurozone backs Greece bailout extension
Greece euro
(BRUSSELS) - Eurozone finance ministers announced Tuesday they have approved a list of reforms submitted by Greece in exchange for a four-month extension to its international bailout.
The 19 ministers decided in a teleconference that "they consider this list of measures to be sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point", they said in a statement.
"We therefore agreed to proceed with the national procedures with a view to reaching the final decision on the extension by up to four months."
Parliaments in several of the eurozone's 19 member states including economic powerhouse Germany must now vote on the proposals by Athens, before Greece's bailout expires on Saturday.
The European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund -- formerly known as the "troika" of creditors and now dubbed the "institutions" -- will further review and refine the list up until the end of April.
"We call on the Greek authorities to further develop and broaden the list of reform measures, based on the current arrangement, in close coordination with the institutions in order to allow for a speedy and successful conclusion of the review," the statement added.
At last-gasp talks on Friday, the ministers had agreed a four-month bailout extension but only if Greece's new left-wing government came up with a binding list of reforms to put its finances back on track
Greece handed in the reforms, including commitments to battle tax evasion and corruption, to Brussels on Monday night.