Greek cabinet mulls extra austerity measures

GREEK Prime Minister George Papandreou chaired a cabinet meeting yesterday to decide on more austerity measures to secure continued funding under an international bailout.

EU and IMF inspectors are holding a conference call with finance minister Evangelos Venizelos today, to hear what measures Greece will take to plug this year’s shortfall in the budget before they release an €8bn loan tranche it needs by October before it runs out of money.

Mr Papandreou cancelled a planned visit to the US on Saturday to deal with the deepening crisis at home as eurozone partners made clear further funding for the debt-ridden country would hinge on adhering to agreed fiscal targets.