Theodoros Pangalos said the idea of a broader debt extension was more favorable than a so-called haircut — a reduction in the amount of money owed.
"I do not believe in a haircut. I believe in an extension of the debt," Pangalos told private Skai television.
"And I consider that the extension — as some say in Europe — could concern not just the €110 billion, but the debt as a whole."
He added: "You might ask me: 'isn't that restructuring?' It is, technically, but in the sense that there is never any doubt of our obligation to pay back the debt, and to pay back everything we owe."
Greece narrowly avoided bankruptcy last May, before it began to receive the bailout loans from other countries using the euro and the International Monetary Fund.
Both the EU and IMF have expressed willingness to extend the loan repayment period.
The Socialist government has pledged to continue making steep budget deficit cuts in 2011, but the country's debt-to-GDP ratio is set to exceed 150 percent next year, from 127 percent in 2009 — fueling ongoing fears of eventual default.
Pressure was added on the government last week when Fitch credit ratings agency downgraded Greek bonds to junk status, matching similar moves last year by Moody's and Standard and Poor's.
Pangalos, known for his blunt and outspoken remarks, said he expected that the worst of the crisis still lay ahead.
"I think 2011 will be the worst year — that means things will be better in 2012," he said.
Greece's financial crisis has already cost the country some 200,000 jobs, with further reforms expected to push unemployment higher than current levels of 13.5 percent — and spur a new round of labor protests.
The civil servants union, ADEDY, has called a 24-hour strike for Feb. 10, while pharmacy owners are due to begin strikes Wednesday against regulations to liberalize their tightly regulated businesses.
Even the country's powerful Orthodox Church is urging the government relax economic austerity and allow more priests to join the state payroll.
Some 10,800 priests and church staff drew a government salary last year — officially making them civil servants.
But the church's governing Holy Synod Monday requesting that strict new hiring limits be eased so that a "limited number" of new priests could cover pressing "operating and pastoral needs."
AP
