GREECE’S NEW PRIME Minister, Lucas Papademos, has said he is determined to keep the country in the eurozone.
He also urged political leaders to back a written commitment for a new massive debt deal.
Prime Minister Papademos was sworn in last week to head a short-term coalition government supported by the outgoing Socialists and the rival conservatives.
The technocratic government was created to secure the approval of a new massive bailout worth €130 billion from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
Papademos presented an outline of his policies to parliament today, describing Greece’s membership in the 17-nation eurozone as “our only choice.”
He spoke hours after conservative leader Antonis Samaras defied a European Union demand to provide a written commitment to the new debt agreement.
RTÉ reports that Papademos said that failure of his government to focus on implementing a European debt rescue deal could force the country out of the eurozone.
Earlier today, Lucas Papademos said the country’s budget deficit will reach 9 percent of gross domestic product this year, higher than earlier targets.
Papademos presented an outline of his policies, promising faster structural reforms and declaring that Greece has already met requirements to receive the next €8 billion rescue loan installment, vital to avoid bankruptcy.
- Additional reporting by AP
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