Greek proposals face skepticism

Senior German conservatives on Friday called into question the credibility of reform proposals put forward by the Athens government under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in a last-ditch bid to avoid a possible exit from the euro zone ("Grexit").

Speaking to ZDF public service television, the deputy parliamentary floor leader for Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), Ralph Brinkmann, said that the new plans seemed to contain many measures that Greeks rejected at a referendum last Sunday, casting doubt on how seriously they were meant.

"How believable is it that this reform list will be implemented?" he asked, saying that the Athens government had also previously condemned many of the things it was now proposing.

Another leading conservative, Hans-Peter Friedrich, from the Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party in Bavaria, also said it was strange that proposals were being made that had been rejected in the referendum.

"Either the Greek government is tricking its own people or [it is tricking] us again," he told Deutschlandfunk radio in an interview.

Friedrich added that not a single reform from a list presented by Greece in January had been implemented, something that did nothing "to raise confidence in this Greek government."

Despite his skepticism, however, Friedrich said that he would "trust in the negotiating ability and the skill of our chancellor."

"I believe that the chancellor ... knows when she must say 'no,'" he said.

Debt haircut 'problematic'

In its latest proposals, the government in Athens has yielded to creditors' demands by pledging to phase out tax breaks for its islands, raise taxes on shipping companies, set a timetable for privatizing public assets including Athens' Piraeus port and slashing a top-up payment for less well-off pensioners.

In return it has asked for 53.5 billion euros ($59.47 billion) to help cover its financial obligations until 2018, and a restructuring of the country's long-term debt.

Brinkhaus said he was "very skeptical" about the proposed debt haircut for Greece, saying that it was problematic in view of the fact that other countries that had implemented reforms had not been given one, citing Cyprus, Portugal, Spain and Ireland as examples.

French optimism

In comments that contrast strongly with those expressed by Friedrich and Brinkmann, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he was "reasonably optimistic" that a deal could be reached to stop a Grexit.

"I believe that major advances have been made in the last few days," Macron told journalists during a visit to the Spanish capital, Madrid, adding that the "level of the reforms is in line with what was expected."

President Francois Hollande followed up these comments from his economy minister, despite cautioning that nothing was yet decided.

"The Greeks have shown a determination to stay in the eurozone because the program they are presenting is serious and credible," Hollande said, adding that "the coming hours will be important."

Greece's creditors - the EU Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are currently studying the latest Greek proposals, which were submitted on Thursday evening.

They will then be considered by eurozone finance ministers.

Months-long negotations between Athens and its creditors on how to tackle the massive Greek national debt broke down last month, increasing the prospect that Greece could face economic collapse and a possible exit from the common currency zone of the euro.

tj/msh (Retuers, AFP, dpa)