Eurozone finance ministers decided that Greece must legislate a series of reforms within the next few days in order to continue negotiations for a third bailout package the country has requested from the European Stability Mechanism. According to comments by top European officials after the end of the Eurogroup meeting, Greece must show willingness to reform and gain the trust of its partners that has been damaged in the past five months. The measures and reforms should be implemented in two waves as follows: In the first wave, creditors want new value added tax rates and abolition of discounted VAT on Aegean Sea islands, a raise in solidarity contributions, raises in luxury and corporate taxes, changes in arrangements of debts to the state, abolition of early retirement, a raise in health contributions in main and supplementary pensions, the opening of closed professions (notaries, engineers etc), transfer of 10 percent of shares of the partly owned by the state telecommunications company OTE to the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), and a timeframe for privatization of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE). The second wave of reforms will follow very soon with the acceleration of the timelines described in the Greek list of proposals. It includes changes in income tax, changes in property tax, raise in shipping industry taxes, cuts in defence spending, pension law reforms such as zero deficit clause and merger of security funds, legislation for absorption of decisions of unconstitutionality by the Council of State, changes in labor market based on European and international policies, new salary exchequer in the public sector along with structural and operational changes.
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