Greek unemployment rises above 25 percent

By Nicholas Paphitis

Associated Press

Published: Thursday, Oct. 11 2012 11:55 a.m. MDT

All three parties in Greece's governing coalition say they want a two-year extension, to 2016, in the new austerity deadline, and IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday said she backs the notion.

"I said repeatedly that an additional two years was necessary for the country to actually face the Fiscal Consolidation Program that is considered," Lagarde told reporters as the IMF and World Bank held annual meetings in Tokyo.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who in a visit to Athens on Tuesday praised Greek progress with reforms but stressed that much remains to be done, said the troika must deliver its report before any decision is made.

"I do not want to comment on every single statement of which we see many during a single day," she said. "This is the base. I now wait for the troika report, then we will forge our position," she said.

Get The Deseret News Everywhere

Subscribe

Mobile

RSS