Greece: Papandreou announces use of EU-IMF aid


Prime minister George Papandreou on Friday announced that Greece is formally asking for activation of the EU support mechanism for the Greek economy.

“The time has come for the decision the leaders of the European member countries to support Greece to give us the time that the markets are not giving us. It is a national and pressing need to formally ask of our EU partners the activation of the support mechanism that we jointly created, Papandreou said in a televised statement from the island the southeastern island of Kastelorizo (foto), where he is on a visit.

Papandreou added that he has instructed finance minister George Papaconstantinou to make the necessary actions. The premier said that the revised figures of the true size of the Greek fiscal deficit for 2009 released on Thursday (by Eurostat) “reminded all of us of the “unfathomable mistakes, omissions and criminal choices and the storm of problems legated to us by the previous government”.

“We all — the present government and the Greek people — inherited a boat ready to sink, a country without prestige and credibility that had lost the respect of even its friends and partners, an economy exposed to the mercy of doubt and the appetites of speculation,” he said.
From the very first day the PASOK government rolled up its sleeves and went to work to reverse this negative climate, set out a plan, took tough measures that many times hurt, but regained the country’s credibility and created new alliances, Papandreou continued.