While hundreds of demonstrators took the streets in Greece yesterday (4 May) and international stock and bond markets sank, the European Commission tried to reassure investors that the multi-billion euro loan package, approved last weekend to help Greece tackle its debt problem, will be able to go forward without the approval of every eurozone member state. 

Eurozone finance ministers approved a €110bn package of emergency loans for Greece on Sunday, €80bn of which will be provided by eurozone countries, and the rest from the IMF. The loans will be co-ordinated by the European Commission, with up to €30bn of the eurozone loans available in the first year.

An emergency multi-annual loan programme for Greece from its eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund will be concluded in the next few days, the European Commission says

Despite Gordon's claims to the contrary, nobody seems to believe him that Britain is "best placed to weather the global financial turbulence", not the currency markets, not foreign investors and nor now the European Commission. The FT reports that the Commission is forecasting EU growth will slow from 1.4% cent this year to just 0.2% in 2009, while the eurozone economy would expand by 1.2% this ye...

Eurozone finance ministers approved a €110bn package of emergency loans aimed at averting a sovereign default by Greece and preventing a confidence crisis spreading to countries such as Spain and Portugal

Eurozone finance ministers yesterday agreed on a €30bn loan commitment to Greece over the next year to help manage its debt crisis, as part of a three-year commitment, with the IMF potentially providing another €15 billion. Greece has not yet asked for the loans, but if put into action the agreement would be the biggest multilateral financial rescue ever attempted.

European Union finance ministers are to meet today amid grim outlooks for European economies from the Commission. The Times reports that Britain’s economy is set to contract sharper than any other large European economy, with a 2.8% contraction predicted for 2008, while the eurozone is forecast to shrink 1.

Amid growing talk of pending insolvency, the Greek finance minister said he would not ask for a loan from the euro zone just yet. Meanwhile, the European Commission is trying to assuage fears that the EU will not provide aid at favourable rates should Athens request it. 

The euro-zone economy will contract for the first time this year and barely grow in 2010, the European Commission forecast Monday.

Greece is set to agree to painful reforms, cutting thousands of public sector jobs and reducing pensions in return for a €45bn loan from its eurozone partners and the IMF