Eurozone ministers have agreed to give Greece two more years, until 2016, to meet its deficit-reduction targets, BBC News reported.
However the finance ministers delayed a decision on releasing the latest 31.5bn euro ($40bn) tranche of bailout funds.
Differences also emerged among Greece's lenders on how to make its debt sustainable into the next decade. Greek PM Antonis Samaras has warned that without the new funds Greece will run out of money within days.
The ministers meeting in Brussels endorsed a proposal to extend from 2014 to 2016 a deadline for Greece to reduce its budget deficit, as demanded by international lenders. The proposal was contained in a report for the ministers which also said the extension would add 32.6bn euros ($41.4bn) to the cost of the bailout.
The ministers will meet again to discuss releasing the latest instalment of bailout funds on Nov 20.
The 31.5bn-euro tranche will first have to be approved by some national parliaments, including Germany's.
Greece had been pushing for the funds after passing a tough budget for 2013, including further cuts to pensions and wages, in a vote on Sunday, Nov 11 night.
The country faces a repayment deadline for 5bn euros of debt on Friday.
It is now expected to make an urgent bid to raise funds from the financial markets on Tuesday.
The draft document on the pace of Greek economic reform was prepared by the so-called "troika" – the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission. The troika has already pledged 240bn euros in bailout loans to Greece.
The two-year extension in budget targets will give Greece time to achieve a primary budget surplus – a figure that would not include debt-financing costs.
