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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Greece agrees to €110bn austerity package

Greece has agreed a package of bail-out measures worth €110 billion ($1 from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB).

The rescue fund, which will be donated to the ailing state over the course of the next three years, will receive €80 billion from the ECB with the IMF providing the rest of the money.

Before the terms of the bail-out were agreed, George Papandreou, Greek prime minister, said that the state needed to reach an agreement with the two bodies over a bail-out package to rescue the beleaguered state.

The politician was quoted by Reuters as saying: “Today the top priority is the survival of the nation. This is the red line.”

He added: “The economic measures we must take ... are necessary for our country's protection, for our future, for us to be able to stand on our feet."

Earlier in the month, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the government’s debt after its deficit was found to be more than originally anticipated.

The figure of €32.34 billion ($42.81 billion) is equivalent to 13.6 per cent of gross domestic product and more than the previously-reported figure of 12.7 per cent.

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