ESM: Deal paves way for debt relief talks

The agreement on Greek pension and income tax reforms reached on Tuesday morning paves the way for discussions on debt relief for Athens, the eurozone bailout fund ESM said in a statement.

"Staff teams from the European Commission, European Stability Mechanism, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund have reached a preliminary agreement with the Greek authorities on a policy package to support the recovery in Greece, and which will be the basis for concluding the 2nd review of the ESM stability support program," it said.

"The Greek authorities have confirmed their intention to swiftly implement this policy package. This preliminary agreement will now be complemented by further discussions in the coming weeks on a credible strategy for ensuring that Greece's debt is sustainable," the fund said.