Greece’s biggest creditor Germany said yesterday that the eurozone would give Athens no further financial aid until it has a more detailed list of reforms and some are enacted into law, adding to scepticism over plans presented last week.

A senior official in Brussels on Sunday had dismissed the list as “ideas” rather than a plan that Greece could submit to EU and IMF lenders to avoid running out of cash next month.

Eurozone states are still waiting for Greece to send a more comprehensive list, a German finance ministry spokesman said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Athens had a certain degree of flexibility on which reforms to implement but that they must “add up” to the satisfaction of European partners.

“The question is can and will Greece fulfil the expectations that we all have,” she said during a visit to Helsinki.

Time is running out for Greek PM Tsipras to convince lenders he is serious about reforms

“There can be variation as far as which measures a government opts for but in the end the overall framework must add up.”

There was no immediate reaction from Athens on whether the list would be amended further. Lenders have said it could take several more days before a proper list was ready. Greek and other eurozone officials from the Euro Working Group are due to discuss the reforms on April 1.

A Greek finance ministry official said the list included a lowered target of €1.5 billion in proceeds from asset sales this year and a proposal to set up a bad bank with bailout funds returned to the euro zone in February.

Among the slated asset sales is a stake in the country’s biggest port, Piraeus, in which China has expressed interest.

The list also estimates Greece can raise €3.7 billion this year through audits of bank transfers abroad, TV licence and e-gaming tenders, a value-added-tax lottery scheme, a crackdown on smuggling and the settlement of arrears owed to the state.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras must convince European lenders that he is serious about reforms. Photos: ReutersGreek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras must convince European lenders that he is serious about reforms. Photos: Reuters

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is running out of time to convince lenders he is serious about reforms and keeping the country’s finances on track.

Greece will run out of money by April 20 without more aid.

The reforms are a sensitive issue for Tsipras, whose Cabinet late on Sunday approved the package of measures sent on Friday.

That package targets a primary budget surplus of 1.5 pct of national output this year – compared to a previous target of three per cent in Greece’s EU/IMF 240 billion euros bailout.

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