Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Germany warns Greece over rescue


Photo taken on July 20, 2011 at the Chancellery in Berlin showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy France and Germany are both determined to implement the plan

The eurozone plan to save Greece from bankruptcy is not up for renegotiation, Germany has warned, ahead of emergency talks with Greece and France.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would make it clear in talks with the Greek PM that the plan was needed.

French PM Francois Fillon said Greece had to say "without ambiguity" whether it wanted to stay in the eurozone.

Greek PM George Papandreou is to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel later on Wednesday.

Mr Papandreou announced a referendum on the eurozone rescue plan on Tuesday. Overnight, Greece's cabinet gave unanimous backing to the vote, which could take place in December.

He told an emergency cabinet meeting a referendum would offer "a clear mandate" for austerity measures demanded by eurozone partners.

Earlier, stock markets recorded big drops amid shocked reactions in eurozone capitals to the referendum announcement.

Meanwhile Italy's cabinet will meet at 19:00 GMT to discuss emergency measures to deal with its own debt crisis.

No comments: