22 Jun 2012

Pledge issued by new Greek govt

11:17 am on 22 June 2012

Greece's new coalition government has pledged to revise the terms of an unpopular bailout deal without risking its eurozone membership.

Conservative leader Antonis Samaras was sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday.

A joint statement issued by the conservative, socialist and moderate leftist parties in the coalition says the aim is to revise terms of the loan agreement without endangering the country's European course and its place in the euro.

Amid intense international pressure for Greece to get its reforms back on track, they also promised to honour targets on deficit reduction, debt control and structural reform.

National Bank of Greece chairman Vassilis Rapanos has been appointed finance minister.

New foreign minister will be Dimitris Avramopoulos of New Democracy, a former diplomat and ex-mayor of Athens, who was previously defence minister.

According to the Athens News Agency, Greece is hoping for a two-year extension to 2016 for its recovery plan and a further EU-IMF loan of up to 20 billion euros.