Greece to seek Parliament approval for negotiations as deadline looms

The Greek government will ask for Parliament’s approval on Friday to negotiate on the text of “prior actions” that could form the basis of a cash-for-reforms deal with the country’s international creditors, a government source said. As Greece races to stave off bankruptcy, its creditors want Athens to pass laws on reforms as “prior actions” to convince the international lenders of the government’s intent. The new bailout is the third Greece will have asked for in the past five years.

This is a move to show that the government has the political will to proceed with implementing the promised reforms but without making any unilateral move before a Eurogroup meeting.

Greek government source

The radical left government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until midnight Brussels time (2200 GMT) to submit a plan acceptable to its partners, especially skeptical Germany. In return, it is seeking billions of euros in loans to keep the country afloat. Leaders of the 28-nation European Union, including the 19 states that share the euro, are to hold a summit on Sunday billed as the “final deadline” to decide whether to save Greece.

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