Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou visited Paris last Sunday as part of a four-city tour seeking firmer E.U. and U.S. support for new austerity measures to rein in its massive budget gap. 

    French leader Nikolas Sarkozy issued a warning to traders who would bet against the euro zone’s willingness to defend a member state, although he purposely did not detail what measures the bloc might take. 

    Mr. Papandreou’s government has committed to a severe austerity plan to reduce Greece’s massive 12.7 percent budget deficit and has warned that going to the International Monetary Fund is an option if a European solution is not found. 

    Mr. Papandreou also suggested the euro-zone should consider creating a “European Monetary Fund” that could support a member in times of crisis. He said talks were under way in the E.U. toward finding a mechanism that would allow Greece to reduce its borrowing costs. 

    <<<背景介绍

       希腊总理帕潘德里欧所在的社会党从去年10月份开始上台执政，快速地将政府的预算赤字占国内生产总值的比重，从早些时候的4%以下变为2009年的12.7%，震惊了整个欧洲。由于希腊的国家债务被认为有更多的市场风险，希腊人必须支付高息贷款，这反过来又阻碍了其偿还债务的能力。希腊的财政紧缩政策已经引发了罢工和暴力示威。