By Judith Ugwumadu | 25 February 2015

European institutions have backed Greece’s reform list, calling it a ‘valid starting point’ for eurozone finance ministers to consider whether the government can be granted a loan extension till June. 

Greece’s new Left-wing government yielded to pressure from the German government to stick to the broad terms of its €240bn international bailout package, in order to obtain the four-month loan extension.

Yesterday, the European Commission and the European Central Bank gave their full support, saying that the list was ‘sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review’.

However, the International Monetary Fund, while broadly supportive of the reforms, said it would like to see ‘clear assurances’ that the government was committed to designing and implementing comprehensive pension and VAT reforms.

The 19 eurozone finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup, said they would proceed with the national procedures with a view to reaching the final decision on the extension by up to four-months of the current Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement.

In a statement, the Europgroup said: ‘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 [troika] in order to allow for a speedy and successful conclusion of the review.’