What Greece has to do in exchange for a $96 billion bailout

In exchange for a promised $96 billion bailout, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has committed his deeply indebted country to a slate of tough new austerity measures and reforms that have proven elusive for years. Here are the steps the Greek government must take before fellow eurozone members will formally negotiate a new third bailout of Greece.

By Wednesday:

• Streamline the value-added tax system and extend it to service industries.

• Conduct a comprehensive reform of the pension system to make it self-financing.

• Safeguard the full legal independence of the Greek statistics office accused of misreporting finances in the past.

By July 22:

• Overhaul procedures and arrangements for the civil justice system that should significantly accelerate the judicial process and reduce costs.

• Implement the European Union’s Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive to secure new liquidity infusions.

Additionally, with a “satisfactory clear timetable”:

• Carry out pension reforms by October.

• Relax state controls on Sunday trade, pharmacy ownership, milk, bakeries, ferry transportation and other closed professions.

• Privatize the electricity monopoly.

• Undertake rigorous review of the labor market to align it with European best practices.

• Strengthen the financial sector, including decisive action on non-performing loans and elimination of political interference.

• Scale up privatization by transferring at least $55 billion in valuable state assets to an independent fund, using half the proceeds to recapitalize state banks and the rest to pay down debt and invest in growth.

• Allow creditor institutions to work in Athens to monitor and assess progress in implementing the necessary reforms.

Los Angeles Times