Greece Sends Updated Reforms and Pledges

Greece sent an updated list of reforms to lenders on Wednesday to try to unlock financial aid and avoid a default but euro zone officials said more work was needed before new funds could be released.  Greece is weeks away from running out of cash but its euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders have frozen support payments until it implements reforms, with talks bogged down over what measures the leftist-led government must take.

“We sent a new document today to the Brussels Group (of EU/IMF lenders) which is more specific and quantified,” a Greek finance ministry official told reporters, noting that labor and pension reform were the main sticking points in negotiations.  Euro zone officials said, however, that institutions representing the lenders – the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF, got the list too late for it to be discussed by euro zone deputy finance ministers at a teleconference on Greece on Wednesday afternoon.

One euro zone official familiar with the content of the call said recent talks on the reforms had made progress but that more work was needed for a deal.  EU officials confirmed the new reform list, published by the Financial Times (bit.ly/1OZy4Ww), was genuine, but noted it still needed more work.