BRUSSELS—The European Commission on Tuesday backed proposals made by the Greek government for reworking its bailout program, putting Athens one step closer to securing a four-month extension to its expiring bailout.
But the bloc’s governments will require more detail on the proposals before giving Greece more money and possibly before approving its extension request. Eurozone finance ministers will discuss the list of proposals, sent by Greece to its creditors on Monday night, on a conference call Tuesday afternoon.
“In the commission’s view, this list is sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review, as called for by [eurozone finance ministers],” said commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas. “We are notably encouraged by the strong commitment to combat tax evasion and corruption.”
However, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who leads meetings of the eurozone ministers, said the proposals represented “just a first step.”
“This list is just an indication of the kind of reforms they would like to replace and also the ones they would like to continue,” Mr. Dijsselbloem said at the European Parliament on Tuesday.
The commission is one of three institutions—along with the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund—that have been overseeing Greece’s bailout and had been asked to assess the list before the eurozone ministers speak on their conference call at 13:00 GMT. Mr. Schinas said the fact that a conference call has been scheduled indicates the ECB and the IMF support the Greek proposals.
The list, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, includes pledges on privatizations, reforms to pension policy and government spending cuts, including reducing the number of ministries from 16 to 10. It also pledges to raise the minimum wage, a measure that has raised concerns among some of Greece’s creditors.
A eurozone official who had seen the list was skeptical. “It should be much more concrete, but hopefully we will receive more concreteness,” the official said.
Nevertheless, Greek stocks surged on the news that the commission believes the proposals appear to meet the demands of eurozone finance ministers, with the main stock exchange in Athens rising more than 8% in early afternoon trading. Bonds also jumped.
The Greek government needs its creditors to approve its proposals to secure a four-month extension to its €240 billion ($273 billion) bailout, which expires at the end of the month.
Mr. Dijsselbloem said he received the list of reforms at 11:15 on Monday evening. That means Athens submitted the list in time, despite an announcement by the Greek government on Monday night that it wouldn’t send the measures until Tuesday morning. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis also sent the list of reforms to the commission, the ECB and the IMF.
If ministers approve the extension on Tuesday afternoon, national parliaments in countries including Germany and Finland can vote on the changes to the bailout program before it expires on Saturday.
The Greek list is six pages long and appears to set out the proposed measures in satisfactory detail, a European official who had seen the document said. Notably, the proposals include measures to “unify and streamline” Greece’s pension policy, the official said—despite resistance from the government in Athens until now to make further changes to its pension system. The government also pledged to fight early retirement, the official said, but also laid out plans to create a “basic income scheme” for early retirees, which would cushion some of the hardship brought on by the changes.
But a eurozone official noted that the letter only commits not to reverse existing sales of government assets to the private sector. Greece’s creditors have been pushing Athens to sell these assets, though targets for doing so have repeatedly slipped. The new Greek government has argued that selling assets in the current depressed economic environment would lead to sales at prices below their true value.