By Martin Banks - 18th March 2010
All the benefits could be lost in minutes
Giorgos Papandreou
Greek PM Giorgos Papandreou says his government is "doing all it can" to tackle the country's crippling budget deficit.
But, speaking in parliament on Thursday, he pleaded for Athens to be allowed to borrow at "normal rates similar to other EU member states."
He also said that while a possible European Monetary Fund (EMF) might be useful in the future, "it does not deal with the current crisis in Greece."
Addressing a meeting of parliament's special committee on the economic crisis, he also warned of the "dire consequences" of failure to restore public confidence in financial institutions.
"There is a danger of it leading to a sense of impotence and that, in turn, could lead to growing extremism in society," he said.
He told MEPs the Greek crisis was "acute and complex" but said he did not want Greece to be seen as a "reckless" country which was pleading for pleading for financial assistance.
He added,"I will be the first to admit it is my country's responsibility to address our own structural problems.
"They may have been inherited but we have to correct these mistakes ourselves."
He also warned that the "hard austerity measures" currently being introduced in Greece were at risk of being squandered.
"All the benefits could be lost in minutes because of speculation on the world financial markets," he said.
"Someone sat behind a computer could take all that we have done and 'put it in the back pocket'.
"This, clearly, is something we want to avoid."
The current crisis, he said, presented a "great opportunity" o press ahead with "vigorous and rigorous" reform of the financial sector.
"We must not lose this opportunity to fix the system," he told a packed meeting of the special committee on the financial, economic and social crisis.
His comments come in the week the commission said that if it was deemed necessary it would help Greece out of the crisis.
Committee chair Wolf Klinz, a German ALDE deputy, was applauded by members when he said, "I am astonished and shocked that the banks, which had to be bailed out by taxpayers, are now using the first opportunity to speculate against the euro and make money in doing so."
