Greece will be given one extra year until 2015 to produce a primary surplus of 4.5 billion euros under the terms of a new bailout agreement with the European Union and the IMF, an official at one of the Greek coalition parties said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Previously Athens had to achieve the surplus, which excludes interest payments, by 2014 so this gives the government a little extra breathing space on tackling its budget problems.
Under the deal, the government must also specify additional austerity measures worth 10 billion euros in June for the 2013-2015 period, the party official said, requesting anonymity.
Budget cuts for 2012 included 400 million euros from public investment and 300 million from the defence budget, he added.
The agreement also covers help for banks which have been hammered by their large holdings of Greek government debt, the value of which is being slashed under the bailout deal, and a steady loss of deposits.
Banks with major problems would be recapitalised with common voting shares while those with lesser problems would be recapitalised with bonds convertible into shares with restricted voting rights, the official said.
Earlier the three coalition parties failed to agree on cuts to supplementary pension payments, preventing a deal with Greece΄s international lenders.
However, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said they had settled all other issues and would aim to overcome the remaining hurdle before euro zone finance ministers meet in Brussels at 1700 GMT on Thursday