GERMAN Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel crowed yesterday that progress could now be made on dealing with Greece.

After a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Union creditors in Brussels, the Syriza leader assured EU lenders that his coalition government would soon present a full set of cuts agreeable to them.

Greece is being forced to compile a new list of reforms to unlock cash and stave off bankruptcy.

In return, EU creditors agreed to finish work “as fast as possible” on completing Greece’s EU-IMF rescue programme.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he was making €2 billion (£1.6bn) of unused EU development funds available to Greece but did not lay out what conditions would be attached.

Mr Tsipras attended the three-hour meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and top EU officials.“We have put the process back on track,” Mr Tsipras claimed later.

Ms Merkel said she and Mr Hollande were “fully in line” with the agreement.“The Greek prime minister said that he is willing to present such a list and that he will do so quickly,” she said.

President Hollande urged Greece “to be more precise in its reform proposals and introduce them faster than planned.”

Greece’s creditors agreed in February to extend its €240bn (£190bn) bailout in exchange for promises of cuts by the Syriza government.

Today sees a key debt deadline when Greece must pay €300 million (£240m) to the International Monetary Fund and redeem €1.6bn (£1.3bn) in treasury bills.Technical talks in Athens and Brussels will continue as before.

But on present evidence, there is little likelihood of EU concessions.

European alarm had mounted after the Greek parliament adopted a crisis Bill aimed at helping the poor, which lenders say violated commitments to creditors.

But the EU appears to have pulled Syriza back on its preferred track.

While the closing statement spoke of a “spirit of mutual trust” and Mr Tsipras claimed he left feeling more optimistic, Ms Merkel again stressed no further money would be available before Athens implements an acceptable cuts programme.

by Our News Desk