Greek political leaders broadly agree on €12bn austerity package

Greek political leaders have broadly agreed on a nearly €12bn austerity package despite reservations over wage and pension cuts.

After weeks of haggling over the budget cuts, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's allies struck a deal on the composition of the package and are ironing out final details of how salary and pension cuts will be spread.

Nearly 70,000 Greeks marched to parliament yesterday chanting "EU, IMF Out!" demonstrating against a threatened new round of wage and pension cuts for tens of thousands of the population.

The Greek government is pressing ahead with steps to secure the next batch of bailout funds - vital to keeping the state solvent.

Athens' focus now shifts to clinching a deal with the troika of European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund lenders, who return to Athens early next week to conclude talks on the package.

The Greek government needs to seal the deal soon so it can push the austerity package through parliament before an October meeting of euro zone finance ministers.