ATHENS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Greece was very close to reaching an agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on the terms of a financial aid package, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said Friday afternoon.

“We do whatever is necessary to save the country,” Papaconstantinou told an economic forum here organized by The Economist, as Greek media reported that a deal was expected to be concluded and announced this weekend.

According to the reports, the Greek government will proceed to further harsh austerity measures to achieve the goal of putting the economy in order, under heavy pressure from European partners and markets.

Acknowledging the fiscal adjustment Greece is called upon to do is uNPRecedented in the past three decades, Papaconstantinou said the three-year Stability and Growth Program would be followed by the necessary structural reforms to create a better country.

Appearing confident that the country will win the struggle against the speculators and will not face financing problems in the near future, Papaconstantinou stressed the socialist government “will not step back from the implementation of painful measures”, focusing on the long-term benefit for the country instead of the possible political cost.

Waiting for the formal announcement of the terms of the deal, labor unions and opposition political parties are already criticizing the government for bringing on the latest crisis through its decisions in the past few months.

Labor unions have called for massive demonstrations across Greece on May 1 to protest the austerity measures.