Greece agrees to 24 bn euros austerity plan

Greece, which is bogged down by an intensifying debt crisis, has agreed to a 24 billion euro austerity package that includes wage cuts for public sector employees.

Greek government has agreed to the austerity plan in return for loans worth billions of euros from its euro area countries and others, according to media reports.

The Times has reported that Greece has agreed to the draft outline of a 24 billion euros rescue package, that is expected to include savage cuts in civil service wages and state benefits along with hefty tax increases to cut its deficit.

"Final details of the measures were still being decided last night with officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission (EC), and the European Central Bank (ECB). "A final draft should be ready for approval by the Greek Parliament next week," the daily said.

The publication noted that any deal could still be derailed by political infighting in Germany, where opponents of Chancellor Angela Merkel have threatened to block a bill authorising the nation's participation in a three-year, 20 billion euros, austerity package.

Earlier this week, Standard & Poor's had downgraded the credit ratings of Greece. According to Financial Times, Greece faces exceptionally strict monitoring by the European Union (EU) and IMF because of its poor record of implementing previous economic reform programmes.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou last week activated the EU-IMF rescue package, after previous efforts of austerity measures failed to calm the financial markets.