Eurogroup approves Varoufakis program

Eurogroup FinMins approved the loan extension that Greece has applied for, giving the country another four months breathing room in order to properly formulate a plan for the future.

The agreement was ratified by a teleconference call on Tuesday. It was first confirmed by Slovak FinMin Peter Kazimir on Twitter.

The list of commitments tabled by the Greek government includes maintaining state-asset sales, consolidation of pension funds, tax reform which will combat tax fraud and tax evasion, as well as a continuation of privatizations.

The EC, the ECB and the IMF – so called Troika- gave the primary go-ahead before the list was presented to the EuroGroup.

The package, however, still needs to be put forth before national councils for formal consent. According to Bloomberg news agency, officials in Germany, Finland and the Netherlands stated that they will not stand in the way once their respective governing bodies grant approval for the aforementioned extension.

Germany’s vote will come on February 27th, according to Michael Grosse-Broemer, Parliementary whip. Finland’s government also stated that the Greek list was comprehensive enough to grant said extension.