Greece edged closer to eurozone survival Tuesday as its international creditors and hold-out Germany looked ready to approve the reforms they had demanded of Athens in return for extending its bailout programme.
Finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the euro were due to hold a conference call at 1300 GMT after Brussels and Berlin gave a cautious welcome to a list of reforms submitted by Athens late the night before.
At last-gasp talks on Friday, the ministers had agreed a four-month bailout extension but only if Greece`s new left-wing government came up with a binding list of reforms to put its finances back on track.
Germany has led opposition to Greece`s drive to ditch its austerity commitments, but Chancellor Angela Merkel`s deputy Sigmar Gabriel said Europe`s biggest economy now hoped for a positive outcome.
"I am cautiously optimistic that on Friday and today we have moved, step by step, toward a solution to the conflict," Gabriel said.
The German parliament will vote Friday on any deal, and several other eurozone countries may also have to do so before the current bailout expires on Saturday.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, confirmed the conference call would go ahead, having said it could only do so if the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund judged the reforms went far enough.
"I think they are very serious" about the reforms, said Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister, adding however: "It is not going to be easy. This is just a first step."
European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said the Greek list "is sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion".
Greece has had to be bailed out twice -- in 2010 and 2012 -- to the tune of 240 billion euros plus a hugely controversial private-sector debt writedown worth another 100 billion euros.
The Athens stockmarket soared 7.0 percent at the opening and continued higher Tuesday as investors bet that Greece would win approval.The reform list unveiled by Athens on Tuesday includes steps to tighten up on tax collection and government spending, especially on the civil service and pensions, and crack down on corruption.
But it keeps measures to offset the pain caused by the tough austerity policies Athens agreed to in the bailout programme, such as free electricity for 300,000 poor families, free access to health care, food and public transport coupons and aid for those on low pensions.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in a letter to the country`s European creditors that the reforms would "strengthen fiscal sustainability, guarantee financial stability and promote economic recovery."
Germany has up to now flatly objected to cutting Greece any slack, insisting Athens stick to its austerity commitments and that only fiscal discipline can deliver sustainable growth.
Berlin fears any concession might encourage other eurozone countries to ease the tough austerity measures Merkel sees as vital to prevent a return of the debt crisis that nearly brought the eurozone to its knees.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won office last month arguing the exact opposite -- that the austerity policies had wrecked an economy which has shrunk by an unprecedented 25 percent in the last six years.
Friday`s eurozone agreement in effect allowed Greece to change the balance of obligations in the bailout programme, while conceding that its overall impact on the economy and government finances would have to remain the same.
The "troika" of the EU, ECB and IMF supervised the 2010 and 2012 rescue programmes, sparking deep-seated popular resentment which helped Tsipras come to power last month. He promptly banned all talk of the troika, insisting the three now be referred to simply as the three "institutions."
Without a deal this week, the Greek government risks running out of money with the banking system bled dry, leading to a chaotic exit from the eurozone.
