June 19, 2011
With its coffers nearly empty, its people protesting and its political system under unprecedented attack, Greece stands on the brink of crisis as European officials prepare for a week of crucial meetings to avert economic collapse.
Fears that a debt-choked Athens could plunge global financial markets into turmoil are mounting as Germany and France edge closer to a new multibillion rescue package for the nation. Eurozone finance ministers are expected to give the green light to an emergency loan for the country when they convene for urgent talks in Luxembourg.
But as George Papandreou, Greece's beleaguered prime minister, also prepares to hold emergency discussions with European commission president José Manuel Barroso, the assurances have done little to dampen concerns that Athens is heading towards default. The chances are "so high that you almost have to say there is no way out", said Alan Greenspan, the former US Federal Reserve chairman. His prediction followed reports that 18 months after the eruption of Europe's worst crisis in decades, the European commission has begun to have a "profound sense of foreboding" about Greece and the future of the eurozone.
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