Finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos was being assisted by a team of French officials in drawing up the proposals.
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Technical experts will review Greece’s request for a loan under the European Stability Mechanism, a bailout fund established by the eurozone in 2012.
The number of last-minute tourist bookings to Greece – usually a European summer hotspot for its many sun-bleached islands – has plunged 30 per cent over the past two weeks because of the uncertainty. “But the effects on the rest of the world economy are likely to be limited”. “That hasn’t changed between the day before yesterday and today”.
Euro zone officials want Greece to rush a first wave of measures through parliament before Sunday to prove its serious intent.
The comments come a day after the USA and the global Monetary Fund piled pressure on Europe to restructure Greece’s debt.
It also hinted that it would like some form of debt relief from earlier bailouts.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, who has made no secret of his belief that that Greece and the eurozone would be better off going their separate ways, has pronounced himself “skeptical” of the Greek proposal.
He asked, “Is it in European citizens’ interests…to have a country crumble where its authority dissipates” and pointed out that Greece is a country of transit for migrants trying to get to Europe.
In ideal circumstances, a summit of the European Union’s 28 members would be able to approve them on Monday.
“Tonight the decision is that we wait until Sunday for the new proposal to the European institution by the Greek government”.
Tusk’s call echoes comments from Christine Lagarde, the worldwide Monetary Fund’s managing director, on Wednesday. Germany, though, has resisted calls for debt relief without reforms.
Both sides say they want the same thing: Greece in the euro.
The country has a public debt of about $356 billion.
France, which has tried to mediate between Athens and Berlin, nailed its colours to the mast on Wednesday, warning of the perils of a “Grexit”.
Novartis also rose 1 percent after winning early USA regulatory approval for a new heart drug.
Greece has had two worldwide bailouts worth €240 billion since 2010, the last of which expired on June 30.
Greece’s government has agreed to longstanding demands by creditors to impose sweeping sales tax hikes and cuts in state spending for pensions.
“Signs of unhappiness at the proposed deal could easily reverse the good feeling… but for now markets just appear to be pleased that negotiations are underway once again”, said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG. Ilmars Rimsevics, the governor of the Bank of Latvia and a member of the European Central Bank Governing Council, said in a radio interview that Greece had “voted itself out of the eurozone”. “Show you are a real leader and not a false prophet”, he said.
Weidmann said he welcomed the fact that central bank credit “is no longer being used to finance capital flight caused by the Greek government”.
Even if Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was to improve his reform proposals, they would lack credibility, according to Ramsauer, a ex- transport minister under Merkel and chairman of the economic affairs committee in the German parliament.
The proposals are set to be discussed at a summit of European Union leaders Sunday to determine whether the country will get a new bailout, or be forced to leave the single currency.
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In that written request, Athens pledged to honor its financial obligations and implement tax and pension reforms in return for a three-year rescue loan.
