Greece grasps for €30bn rescue package

After months of battling the markets, Greece raised the white flag on the 23 April 2010. Greece asked its eurozone partners to immediately activate a €30bn EU / IMF rescue package following a week of intense pressure on financial markets. The country’s Prime Minister George Papandreou made the announcement.

The request marked a defining moment for the European Union, whose ambitions to play a more prominent role in world affairs rest partly on a claim of successful economic integration that the Greek debt crisis throws into doubt.

ESO: Background information: Fears rise of Greece rescue plan falling short http://www.europeansources.info/record/fears-rise-of-greece-rescue-plan-falling-short/

France24, 23.4.10: Prime minister officially requests joint EU-IMF debt rescue plan http://www.france24.com/en/20100423-greece-prime-minister-george-papandreou-request-eu-imf-debt-rescue-mechanism

BBC News, 23.4.10: Greece calls on EU-IMF rescue loans http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8639440.stm

European Commission: Press Release: IP/10/446: Joint statement by European Commission, European Central Bank and Presidency of the Eurogroup on Greece http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/446&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

IMF: Press Release, No.168, 2010 (23.4.10): Statement by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Greece http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10168.htm

Greece: Ministry of Finance, 23.4.10: Letter from the Ministry of Finance to the Eurogroup, to the European Commission and to the European Central Bank http://www.mnec.gr/en/press_office/DeltiaTypou/articles/article0229.html

Deutsche Welle, 23.4.10: Greece activates the EU-IMF financial rescue package http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5498676,00.html

Spiegel Online International, 23.4.10: Greece Asks for Loans from the EU and IMF http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,690817,00.html

Kathimerini, 24.4.10: Greece asks for activation of EU-IMF scheme http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100002_24/04/2010_116648

BBC News, 24.4.10: US urges quick action on Greece at IMF meeting http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8641631.stm

ESO: Background information: Greece seeks EU/IMF aid package http://www.euractiv.com/en/euro/greece-seeks-euimf-aid-package-news-474512

IMF: Greece and IMF http://www.imf.org/external/country/GRC/index.htm

BBC News, 25,4,10: IMF chief Strauss-Kahn tries to ease Greece fears http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8642399.stm

BBC News, 25.4.10: Greek minister says IMF debt talks are 'going well' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8642941.stm

Deutsche Welle, 25.4.10: Germany, France signaling hard line on Greek aid http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5503704,00.html

France24, 25.4.10: France, Germany push for tough line on Greece http://www.france24.com/en/20100425-eurozone-needs-strict-greece-french-economy-minister-lagarde

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