A next tranche of international aid for Greece should be available in early July following further talks in the next few weeks on Athens' economic programme, the EU, ECB and IMF said this afternoon.

The Greek government will create an independently managed privatisation agency, the troika said in a joint statement.

The statement concluded a one-month inspection of Greece by European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank officials.

Greece had achieved significant progress but fiscal and structural reforms had to be stepped up, the statement said.

The Greek government was committed to an ambitious medium-term budget plan, they added. Greek liquidity remains tight but policies are in place to ensure it is adequate for banks.

Aid for Greece needs to be approved by euro zone finance ministers and the IMF's executive board before it can be released to Greece.

Speaking this evening, Mexico central bank governor Agustin Carstens who has been nominated to head the IMF, told reporters in Buenos Aires that the International Monetary Fund should help Greece make "difficult decisions". Mr Carstens did not elaborate on his comments.

The Greek finance ministry said earlier officials from the troika reviewed Greece's finances "positively". It said the inspectors had evaluated progress so far and Greece's mid-term plan budget plan. Details of the mid-term plan would be discussed in the coming days and are subject to cabinet approval, it added in a statement.

Greek prime minister George Papandreou flew to Luxembourg to present plans for deeper austerity measures to Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the group of 17 euro zone finance ministers.

Speaking after the meeting, the Luxembourg prime minister said he expected euro zone members to agree on additional financing for Greece. "I expect the Eurogroup to agree to additional finance being provided to Greece under strict conditionality," said Mr Juncker. "This conditionality will include private-sector agreements on a voluntary basis.”

Athens has veered off course because of a revenue shortfall due to a deep recession and chronic tax evasion, requiring extra measures worth €6.4 billion or 2.8 per cent of gross domestic product this year to meet its targets.

The new programme faces rising opposition from trade unions and youth protesters, as well as from some back-bench members of Mr Papandreou's governing PASOK socialist party.

Increased European funding for Greece may in turn face resistance in the parliaments of fiscally conservative northern states, especially Germany and the Netherlands.

Taxpayers have so far borne the brunt of rescuing Greece and fellow euro zone members Ireland and Portugal.

Some European politicians and economists have argued that investors who bought Greek government bonds should share that burden, perhaps by cutting the value or extending maturities.

The ECB has fought such ideas, fearing it would provoke a crisis among European banks which hold large sums in Greek debt, and lead to a violent chain reaction on financial markets far beyond Greek borders.

Most market economists polled by Reuters believe Greece's €340 billion debt mountain is unsustainable and will have to be restructured sooner or later.

Activists from the Communist-affiliated PAME group today stormed the Greek finance ministry, which stands on Syntagma Square in Athens where protesters gather nightly to demonstrate against corruption and economic mismanagement.

"Organise and fight for an overthrow - General Strike", read a banner draped from the roof by PAME, which advocates non-violent protest. The Greek flag remained flying from the building but next to it, PAME banners replaced the usual circle of yellow stars on a blue background of the EU.

"We have a sacred duty to our children and ourselves to cancel plans to turn workers into modern slaves," PAME said in a statement. "We must not allow our children to work for hunger wages. If we do not fight to overthrow these policies their working future will be hell."

Greece's main public sector union, ADEDY, will join private sector sister union GSEE in a nationwide strike on June 15th.

Reuters