Greek leaders to thrash out deal on second bailout Lucas Papademos, the Greek PM, is faced with attempting to force a second round of deeply unpopular austerity measures on disillusioned population. Photograph: Orestis Panagiotou/EPA Greece's political leaders are to meet on Tuesday night to consider a draft agreement that could finally pave the way to the country's second bailout, worth €130bn (£108bn). Talks between Lucas Papademos, Greece's technocratic prime minister, and the heads of the three largest political parties are scheduled to begin at 9pm local time (7pm GMT). If agreement is reached, the full Greek cabinet could endorse the agreement on Wednesday. News that a draft agreement is on the table sent the euro rallying to its highest level against the US dollar in eight weeks. Yesterday, Greece stunned and disappointed the City by missing a deadline to tell the EU whether it accepted the austerity measures demanded by its international lenders in return for the €130bn package of aid. Those austerity measures are deeply unpopular in Greece, where union leaders organised a general strike on Tuesday. Transport links, government offices and schools were all disrupted. An estimated 10,000 people joined a march organised by Greece's two unions, with a similar number taking part in a march organised by the Greek communist party. A German flag was burned outside the Athens parliament, prompting riot police to break up the demonstrations. Nikos Zeppos, a pensioner at the marches, claimed that opposition to fresh austerity was growing. "The battle is maturing ... With these latest messages people will wake up," Zeppos said. But Stathis Asimakopoulos, an Athens cobbler, argued that the Greek economy should have been reformed decades ago. "Papademos is a serious person and we should support him," Asimakopoulos said. Papademos had held negotiations with the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund until the early hours of the morning. This 'Troika' have insisted that Greece would not get more assistance until PASOK leader George Papandreou, New Democracy head Antonis Samaras, and Laos party leader George Karantzaferis are signed up to another raft of painful spending cuts, salary reductions and tax rises. According to one senior government source, Tuesday's talks were delayed from 7pm to 9pm because the draft agreement needs to be translated into Greek, to allow Karantzaferis to read it. Greece has yet to reach a deal with its creditors over the terms of its debt restructuring - another key hurdle on the path to financial support. Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup, has warned that the risk of a Greek exit from the eurozone is greater than before. "With Greece currently struggling to secure reform pledges from its public sector and its wider population, willingness to help has diminished somewhat," Buiter wrote.