Greek voters are likely to get a reward for backing pro-europarties, with European creditors set to ease bailout terms on thedebt-swamped country mired in the fifth year of recession.

A first step will be when Greece's still to-be-formed governmentrequests modifications to the 240 billion-euro ($303 billion)rescue programs, leading to a revision of Greece'seconomic-performance targets sometime before September, a Europeanofficial told reporters in Brussels today.

Europe floated the relief as the victor in the June 17 Greekelection, Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy party, acceleratedpreparations for a coalition government including his historicSocialist rivals with a mandate to loosen the bailout constraintswhile keeping Greece in the euro.

“Agreement on a policy roadmap is the definitive point to form agovernment,” Fotis Kouvelis of the Democratic Left, the third partof the planned coalition, said in Athens today. “The process isspeeding up. It is possible that in the next few hours, or withinthe day, a government can be decided.”

European officials shrouded possible tweaks to the program inambiguous terms, fearful of alienating the public in creditorcountries such as Germany and the Netherlands where resistance ishigh to letting Greece — the origin of the crisis that has broughtthe 17-nation euro to the brink of breakup — off lightly.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to damp speculation thatthe terms of Greece's bailout might be relaxed.

“The important thing is that the new government sticks with thecommitments that have been made,” Merkel told reporters yesterdayat a summit of world leaders in Mexico. “There can be no looseningon these reform steps.”

A number of finance ministers oppose giving Greece more time tomeet targets for deficit reduction, structural reforms or theselloff of state assets, the euro-area official said at theBrussels briefing on condition of anonymity. Still, Greece'sdeteriorating economy makes it delusional to hew to the currentconditions, the official added.

Greece's Democratic Left set seven conditions for joining thegovernment, including extending the deficit-cutting timeline to2017 from 2014 and reversing structural overhauls such as cuts tothe minimum wage and pensions. The Pasok Socialist party broadlyagreed with those demands.

“Forming a government is tied to the need to form a nationalnegotiating team to ensure the unfavorable terms of the bailout arerevised, the terms that were imposed on us, against our will atmany points in the first phase of negotiations,” said EvangelosVenizelos of Pasok, who as finance minister from June 2011 to March2012 negotiated the second aid package.

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