Greek debt plans go down to the wire as troika watches on

Draft plans for new commitments by the Greek government to win an extension of their programme were still being exchanged between Athens and Brussels last night, coming up to the midnight deadline.

A three-page document continued to be modified at the request of experts from the troika.

But in a positive sign, the Greek finance ministry announced that a teleconference will take place between the finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and the eurogroup today.

The document is understood to contain a list of how the Syriza government will raise funds over the next few months instead of completing previous demands that included cuts to pensions.

They include election promises to widen the tax net to include people, especially the very wealthy, to act against tax evasion and to increase excise duty revenues by clamping down on fuel and cigarette smuggling.

Sources said that Brussels was demanding that Athens cost the actions and back them up with hard figures.

Syriza has to walk a fine line in what it includes in this document as it must convince many sceptical countries, chiefly Germany, that it intends to follow through on their proposals.

It must also keep party members happy, especially those on the far left, some of whom were demanding an end to the austerity programme altogether.

If approved by the institutions, the eurogroup of finance ministers are expected to approve them in a teleconference today.

The hope is that the countries, including Germany, that must have parliamentary approval will do so before the programme runs out on February 28.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he would consult the Dáil.

This, however, will be just the start of a process as the eurogroup of ministers said they would not release the roughly €7.3bn due to Greece as the final payment in the second bailout until April, when the plans are finalised.

In the meantime, they will begin talks on a third bailout to be completed by June.

If the new plan is not accepted today, it is likely capital controls will be imposed on Greek banks which haemorrhaged money last week and for the past few months, with the reduced liquidity being provided by the ECB just about sufficient to cover their needs.