Europe's unity tested as bailout for Greece clears a key hurdle

Washington Post
May 8, 2010

Germany's Parliament on Friday backed a $140 billion bailout plan for Greece, but the vote did little to convince global markets that the European and International Monetary Fund rescue plan would work.

International investors continued to move money into the U.S. dollar and they drove up interest rates to more than 18 percent for two-year loans to Greece. Speculation also spread about whether Greece, which this week was rocked by violent protests, might exit the euro zone, though most experts said that such a dire step would still be far too damaging both to Greece and the rest of the European Union. Late Friday, E.U. leaders said they would establish a new "stabilization mechanism" to bolster the euro zone.

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