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Agreement between the EU, the IMF and Greece on an aid plan

Considered "strong" and "credible" by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the program of multi-year budget cuts proposed by Greece to return to high deficits and debt decent justifies the activation of the aid plan finances by the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Sunday a new "sacrifices" that meet the requirements of the IMF and the EU, adding that the new austerity measures against officials and retirees of public sector salaries and save private sector.

A deficit below 3% in 2014

"We are all called to make a choice. The choice is between the collapse or a program of structural change.The government has decided to save the country ", said Sunday the Minister of Finance, George Papaconstantinou.

Save the country, European language, is to establish an austerity plan that allows the return of a budget deficit below 3% of GDP, the ceiling required by the Maastricht Treaty to cement his place in the EU.

Thus the Minister of Finance has proposed to launch an "economic agenda that includes efforts to reduce the budget deficit of 11 percentage points of GDP or 30 billion euros – more than 4.8 billion already announced for 2010 – from today and the next three years "for a return under the famous European threshold by 2014.According to estimates by the Greek government, the deficit would be 8.1% this year, 7.6% in 2011, 6.5% in 2012, 4.9% in 2013 and finally 2.6% in 2014.

From his side, public debt is expected at 133.3% of GDP this year and should continue to rise, up 149.1% in 2013, before beginning to recede in 2014, 144.3%.

Drastic measures

Among the main measures announced included a wage freeze and the removal of 13th and 14th month salary in the public service. There will, however, no change in private sector wages.

The minimum age for retirement is 60 years. Public investment will be reduced and a fund to help the banking system will be implemented.

Starting in 2010, is also provided a further increase of one to two points of the VAT (value added tax, which is already 21%, France is at 19.6%) fast cash advance loan.

A financial assistance plan to ensure the stability of the euro area

Ending speculation and ensure the stability of the euro area. These are the priorities for a Europe troubled for several weeks by the threat of bankruptcy of one of its members.

While rates have long known Greek fevers to worry about the financial world right, and that the euro has depreciated at a rate fears about the ability of Greece to declare bankruptcy, the very viability of the model European Union has been threatened. Political tensions between the heads of state of member countries have revived the debate on Europe in a failure of coordination.

The amount of funding to be given jointly by the EU and the IMF has not yet been revealed, but it will be "unprecedented in the world. The French Minister of Economy Christine Lagarde on Saturday evoked total amount of support within the range suggested by the IMF and the European Commission between "100 and 120 billion euros". She said it was "a plan over three years, the current year, 2011 and 2012." According to analysts at Natixis, the country would need 130 billion euros over three years.

In any case, Greece might blow. The country will repay its term of almost nine billion euros to be repaid on May 19 next.

Never again

Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel intend to take "initiatives in the coming days" for Europe to strengthen monitoring mechanisms within the euro area, expedite its work on the fight against speculation and improving the transparency of products derivatives and make further proposals on the regulation of rating agencies.

For these rating agencies, Banier Michel European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, expressed support on Friday to create such an entity in Europe that would complement three existing credit rating agencies, all U.S., Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch.

"SPECIAL CASE – Greece, a challenge for Europe