Greece under EU pressure to introduce spending cuts

THE EU piled pressure on Greece yesterday when it announced that Commission, ECB and IMF experts will be in Athens in the coming days to see if they are making the necessary cuts to their spending.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said it was up to Greece to help herself out of her difficulties. “If Greece takes credible steps she will be in a position to help herself out of the situation. If there is an EU bailout, everyone including Ireland, pays,” he said.

At the same time the Commission is investigating reports that banks made massive loans to Greece and Italy during the last decade, hiding them from their eurozone partners as currency swaps rather than lending. In return Greece agreed to hand over airport fees and lottery proceeds to the banks for years to come. The result is that Greece probably has even higher debts than understood to date.