Portugal set to enter EU/IMF bailout fund

PORTUGAL looks set to follow Ireland into the EU/IMF bailout fund after its parliament voted against another round of austerity measures aimed at averting such a bailout.

Following the vote Prime Minister José Sócrates offered his resignation, although his government will remain in power in caretaker capacity.

The situation in Portugal could stall national and European efforts to deal with the continent’s protracted debt crisis.