The Financial Times has obtained a document flagging that Greece is seeking to ease its debt burden by asking for a two-year austerity program extension. The country would then need to find another 11.5bln EUR in cuts (5% of nat'l output).
FT: "According to the document, Greece would need additional funding of €20bn to support the budget as the annual deficit reduction in 2013-2014 would be smaller than planned. However, Athens is proposing to find the money without seeking help from eurozone partners."
The idea behind this new request is to spread cuts over four years instead of the planned two years. Antonis Samaras, the centre-right prime minister, will present such proposal to German chancellor Angela Merkel, next week in Berlin, also to French president François Hollande in Paris.
