European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said yesterday that he was confident Greece’s debt crisis could be contained, a day after Athens police battled protesters objecting to austerity plans.
Greece is in negotiations with the EU and the IMF on a financial bailout that its government said was desperately needed by May 19 to avoid a devastating debt default.
“I’m confident that the talks will be concluded soon, meaning in the next days,” Barroso told a press conference at the end of a visit to Beijing. “We believe that these solutions will be conducive to our actions and will prevent further possible effects of the contagion.”
The EU and Greek authorities are making “solid and rapid progress” to finalize an agreement on the bailout, Barroso said. “Greek authorities have stated in very clear terms that they will take all measures needed to correct fiscal imbalances.”
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Thursday said that Greece was in “a battle for survival.”
The government would complete talks on getting tens of billions of euros from the EU and IMF “in coming days,” he said.
“We will do whatever it takes to save the country,” he said.
The bailout, however, is deeply unpopular in Greece because of the harsh conditions protesters say it will impose on ordinary people.
Greek police clashed with protesters on Thursday as the troubled nation came under intense pressure to force through extra cuts in return for the giant bailout deal said to be just days away.
After recent heavy falls, however, markets in Europe and the US rallied at the news that the deal was close to being finalized.
Police fired tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators trying to approach the finance ministry in Athens in protest at austerity cuts aimed at slashing Greece’s budget deficit.
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