Greece drafts reform bill to unlock aid, PM upbeat on deal with creditors

The Greek government drafted a bill on Tuesday containing the reforms it pledges to implement in order to unlock further vital aid to stay afloat, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appeared upbeat that a deal with international creditors was close.

The outline of a draft bill based on the updated, detailed proposals the government has already presented to lenders this spring was to be examined during a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Greece's finance ministry said.

The draft bill on the revised so-called "Varoufakis list" was to address budgetary and taxation issues, fuel, alcohol and tobacco smuggling, but would leave out other key topics, such as non-performing loans and the reform of the pension system.

Greek officials intended to address these "hot" issues at a later stage of talks with lenders to give a final comprehensive solution to the Greek debt crisis, according to government sources.

The government's aim at the moment was to push the bill quickly through the parliament in May to clear the way for the disbursement of vital international funding to the Greek state to resolve the pressing liquidity shortage.

Without international aid, Greece's cash reserves have been running dangerously low this spring, refueling fears of an imminent financial meltdown and Grexit.

Athens managed to cover payments of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans, pensions and civil servants' salaries in March and April, but the outlook for May was becoming bleaker in recent weeks.

Tsipras expressed confidence during an interview with a Greek news website that a deal on the reforms in exchange for immediate aid could be reached by the end of next week. This would be good timing as there is a new Eurogroup meeting scheduled for May 11, a day before Athens needs to pay a 700 million euro (about 765 million U.S. dollar) installment to the IMF.

"We are close to a basic agreement," he told enikos.gr.

In case of a failure to clinch a deal with lenders, Tsipras ruled out the prospect of new general elections in such a short time after January's national polls, and even though he did not rule out the idea of a referendum, he said "it was not necessary."

"We should not fear Greek people's judgment," the Greek premier said, declining to elaborate on the possible question put to vote in case of a referendum. Enditem