Germany cautious about Greece's new proposals

The German government on Friday expressed cautiousness about Greece's latest reform proposals, saying that it is waiting for formal reviews of the troika institutions.

German government declined to give any immediate comment on the content of Greece's latest reform proposals which include spending cuts, tax increases and pension reforms, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We have to wait for the reviews of the institutions (European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund)," said Frank Paul Weber, a spokesman of the German federal finance ministry.

According to him, finance ministers of the eurozone will discuss the review results of the institutions when they meet on Saturday afternoon in Brussels, and will give their recommendations to the heads of states for a scheduled EU summit on Sunday.

"The outcome of the discussion of the Eurogroup finance ministers is totally open," Weber said, adding that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had asked German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble to accompany her to the summit.

The spokesman said the German government would have to get a mandate from the German parliament to negotiate with Greece for a new bailout deal in which "no debt haircut is possible".

An official asked to remain anonymous told Xinhua that "if everything goes smoothly", the German parliament would decide whether to grant the mandate in the middle of next week.