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fredag, juni 17, 2011

Greece: Papandreou picks Venizelos as finance minister


Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has changed his finance minister in an attempt to push through unpopular austerity measures demanded by the EU.

Evangelos Venizelos (<< left) has been promoted to the finance ministry and tasked with tackling a crippling debt crisis.
The proposed reforms have sparked riots in Athens and nationwide strikes, while rattling global markets.

The French and German leaders have called for swift agreement on a new rescue package for Greece.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are meeting in Berlin to discuss further assistance aimed at preventing Greece defaulting on its sovereign debt - which amounts to some 340bn euros.
Athens is seeking to make budget cuts worth 28bn euros (£24.6bn; $40.5bn) over the next four years.
The policies are required for the release of the next tranche of aid - 12bn euros - from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

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