European ministers hand Greece austerity ultimatum

European ministers have demanded that Greece pledge more job and spending cuts within a week in exchange for a €130bn bailout to stave off bankruptcy.

The ministers gave the debt-ridden country until the middle of next week to find an extra €325m in savings, pass the cuts through a divided parliament, and get written guarantees that they will be implemented even after the elections of a new government in April, said Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister who chaired yesterday's meeting of finance chiefs of the 17 euro countries.