Greece

Greek PM says funds will run out by November

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says that if the next slice of international aid does not arrive, his debt-ridden country will run out of money by November.

PressTV,

6 October, 2012

“Until the end of November. Then the coffers are empty," said Samaras in an interview with the business daily Handelsblatt on Friday.

“I cannot and I will not deny it: Greek democracy is facing perhaps its biggest ever challenge… The cuts we have already made have cut to the bone. We are at the limits of what we can ask of our people…People are at the point where they are saying 'we are prepared to make sacrifices but we want to see light at the end of the tunnel'. Otherwise everything is in vain...What we need is more time for budgetary consolidation -- but not necessarily more aid," Greek premier added.

Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession, while harsh austerity measures have left about half a million people without jobs.

On Monday, Athens unveiled its 2013 draft budget which includes measure that would affect pensions, benefits, and the salaries of civil servants to meet the troika including the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) criteria. The austerity budget foresaw a sixth year of recession in 2013. However, the measures did not convince the troika.

The new austerity program includes slashing pensions by 3.5 billion euros, health cuts worth 1.47 billion euros as well as a 517-million-euro reduction in defense spending.

Earlier on September 26, police in Athens clashed with union workers protesting against the government’s new round of austerity measures.

About 3,000 police forces reportedly fired tear gas at a crowd of about 15,000 demonstrators as they marched towards the parliament building.

Greek workers and protesters expressed their dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ proposed austerity measures, demanding a halt on cutting jobs and salaries.

One in every five Greek workers is currently unemployed, banks are in a shaky position, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent.

Greek youths have also been badly affected, and more than half of them are unemployed.

The long-drawn-out eurozone debt crisis, which began in Greece in late 2009 and reached Italy, Spain, and France last year, is viewed as a threat not only to Europe but also to many of the world’s other more developed economies.