Premier proclaims end to austerity

Greece's new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras set his government on a collision course with Greece's creditors on Sunday, proclaiming an end to the era of austerity and "five years of bailout barbarity".

Tsipras presented his government's policy statement to Greek lawmakers that included, as he had forewarned, all the promises made by his radical left party, Syriza, in its manifesto before last month's election.

The government "has taken the irrevocable decision to stick fully to its pre-election commitments," Tsipras said.

By demanding a "bridge agreement" that would give Greece and its creditors time to negotiate a new debt deal much more favorable to the country by June, Tsipras appeared to stick to an approach that got short shrift from European Union partners in a series of meetings that Tsipras and his finance minister had with European officials during the past week.

"If our partners are willing, we can agree tomorrow morning," Tsipras said.

But this would mean the rest of the EU abandoning its declared policies and giving in to Syriza's demands.

The bailout deal "has been abolished by popular mandate", Tsipras said, referring to the two deals that have kept debt-ridden Greece solvent and provided a historically unprecedented 240 $271.4 billion in assistance.

This aid also went with austerity policies that shrank Greece's economy by a quarter and resulted in record unemployment, with more than a quarter of the workforce jobless.

Having come to power as a result of a popular backlash against these measures, Tsipras said it is the EU that must return to its "founding principles of solidarity, social cohesion, growth and democracy".