Brussels: European ministers told Greece on Tuesday it may need to take further steps to bring a swollen debt under control and calm "irrational" financial markets, as wage cuts already announced by Athens sparked another strike.
At a European Union (EU) meeting, finance ministers from Germany, Austria and Sweden led the charge, with Germany's deputy finance minister saying Greece should mimic Ireland and Latvia, both of which are slashing spending and wages savagely. "We made it clear the ball is in Greece's court," said Joerg Asmussen. "Additional measures by Greece are needed."
That, and a statement issued by the ministers after the meeting, suggested clearly that the 30 days they have given Greece to prove itself before reporting back will in any case end with demands for more budget cuts or tax hikes, or both.
Greece is the first country in 11 years of European monetary union to require a political pledge of support as fears over its debt sparked a market attack that has dented the euro and lifted bond yields, making debt servicing even more challenging.
The ministers said nothing about specific support measures or aid, opting instead to heap pressure on Greece in return for the promise to support it if things get out of hand, a pledge made by European leaders last Thursday.
"The pressure on Greece to consider further measures by March 16 has clearly increased," Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proell said, adding no support measures had been agreed so far.
Asked what would happen if Greece faced difficulty raising money in the weeks ahead, Proell said the matter was an affair for Athens to handle first but Europe stood behind it.
