Eurozone ministers agree Greek reform plans

Greece hopes that it will be able to start discussions with its EU and International Monetary Fund partners on filling the state's funding gap straight away, a finance ministry official has said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said:

More: Eurozone ministers agree to Greek bailout extension

Greece's reform plan is sufficient for the Eurozone to continue to give the country aid, but is lacking finer details, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has said.

In a letter to Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Ms Lagarde said that the Greek plan was comprehensive in some areas but "not very specific."

Among other areas of concern, she cited pensions and value-added tax policy as well as labor market reforms.

More: Eurozone ministers agree to Greek bailout extension

Euro zone finance ministers have agreed that a Greek request for a bailout extension could now go ahead, subject to approval by member state parliaments.

The European Commission vice president for the euro said on Twitter that the ministers had agreed to the extension via a telephone conference.

Richard Edgar: European leaders compromise over Greece's bailout deal

Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said he was pleased with the agreement reached with Eurozone ministers. He said he believes the interest of "the average European above all else" has been served, and that the commitments his country has made are ones his government "wanted to make anyway".

He said: "The weekend will be one of joy and creativity. We are writing our own reforms, with our partners."

IMF Chief Christine Lagarde has welcomed the deal reached between the Greek authorities and the Eurozone finance ministers.

Speaking in Brussels she said the negotiations have been labourious but constructive, and have resulted in a "timeline" for the necessary changes that need to be made. She said the IMF is pleased that work can now begin.

Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said Greece "combined logic and ideology in the way we negotiated" to reach the bailout deal.

ITV News Economics Editor Richard Edgar reports:

The four month reprieve won by Greece tonight from its Eurogroup paymasters appears to be a heavy defeat for the country, ITV News Europe Editor James Mates has tweeted.

The euro rebounded against the dollar and global equity markets surged to record highs tonight after Greece and euro zone finance ministers reached an agreement to extend a Greek financial rescue package for four months.

Greece and Eurozone finance ministers have reached deal to extend the Greek bailout by four months, euro zone officials said.

"It's done. For four months," one official said