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| Eurozone crisis live: Strikes in Greece as Europe demands more cuts | Eurozone crisis live: Strikes in Greece as Europe demands more cuts |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 8.14am: Most of Europe's stock markets have opened lower this morning. The FTSE 100 index dropped 30 points to 5864, a drop of around 0.5%. | |
| That's partly due to disappointment over Greece, but shares have also been dented by disappointing trade data from China suggesting the global economy is slowing. | |
| 8.09am: Evangelos Venizelos has said that Greece must decide whether it wants to remain in the eurozone. | |
| Venizelos told journalists that the Eurogroup have left Greece with a clear choice -- accept more austerity measures that its international lenders demand, or leave the euro. | |
| Speaking after the talks broke up, Venizelos said: | |
| From today until the next meeting of the eurogroup, our country, our homeland, our society has to think and make a definitive, strategic decision. | |
| If we see the salvation and future of the country in the euro area, in Europe, we have to do whatever we have to do to get the program approved. | |
| Venizelos also criticised politicians who have criticise the austerity measures forced on Greece : | |
| Nobody can keep pretending to be the good guy....The era of easy choices and demagoguery is over. | |
| Greek ekathimerini.com , Friday February 10, 2012 (02:09) | |
| 7.49am: Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg who chairs the Eurogroup*, was adamant last night that Greece had not done enough – yet – to receive a second rescue package. | |
| Juncker said that the €325m shortfall must be addressed within days. The Greek parliament must also approve the wide-ranging reform plan, and the various leaders of its political parties must also pledge to enforce the plan. | |
| Juncker told a press conference in Brussels his position was clear: | |
| In short, no disbursement without implementation. | |
| Neat, but not quite as catchy as 'No taxation without representation'. In this case, of course, there is no shortage of taxation: | |
| The €325m black hole in the Greek budget plan was caused by the heads of its coalition parties rejecting pension reductions. If the missing funds can't be obtained there, prime minister Lucas Papademos will have to reach agreement on alternative spending cuts or tax rises. | |
| * - the group of 17 finance ministers from eurozone countries | |
| 7.42am: My colleague Ian Traynor reported earlier this morning that the Troika of Greece's lenders voiced exasperation with Greek "delaying tactics". | |
| Ian writes: | Ian writes: |
| Despite announcements earlier that the coalition government in Athens had yielded to savage new terms from the eurozone to qualify for the bailout, the eurozone finance ministers were unimpressed. The emphasis was on first getting Greece to deliver its side of the bargain. | Despite announcements earlier that the coalition government in Athens had yielded to savage new terms from the eurozone to qualify for the bailout, the eurozone finance ministers were unimpressed. The emphasis was on first getting Greece to deliver its side of the bargain. |
| "On the condition that the Greek parliament takes decisions on the prior actions over the coming days, then next week we can finalise decision on the overall package," said Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for monetary affairs. | "On the condition that the Greek parliament takes decisions on the prior actions over the coming days, then next week we can finalise decision on the overall package," said Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for monetary affairs. |
| "It's up to the Greek government by concrete actions through legislation and other actions to convince its European partners that the second [bailout] programme can be made to work." | "It's up to the Greek government by concrete actions through legislation and other actions to convince its European partners that the second [bailout] programme can be made to work." |
| 7.35am: Good morning. Greece's hopes of receiving its second rescue package received a setback overnight, as its Eurozone partners warned that Athens has not met the terms of the €130bn bailout. | |
| Meeting in Brussels last night, European finance ministers studied the plan presented by the Athens government yesterday and concluded that it was incomplete. | Meeting in Brussels last night, European finance ministers studied the plan presented by the Athens government yesterday and concluded that it was incomplete. |
| The European central bank, the European commission, and the International Monetary Fund are now demanding €325m in further cuts to this year's budget before it will approve the rescue package. | The European central bank, the European commission, and the International Monetary Fund are now demanding €325m in further cuts to this year's budget before it will approve the rescue package. |
| The news comes as Greek workers begin a nationwide two-day strike in protest at the austerity measures that coalition leaders reluctantly signed up for this week. Unions have warned that the country now faces a "social uprising". | The news comes as Greek workers begin a nationwide two-day strike in protest at the austerity measures that coalition leaders reluctantly signed up for this week. Unions have warned that the country now faces a "social uprising". |