The French President, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, and the German Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel, warned that Greece must quickly abide by the terms of a bail-out deal if it wants to stay in the euro.
After talks with Greece’s beleaguered Prime Minister, Mr George Papandreou, yesterday, the visibly angry euro zone leaders insisted that if he wants to hold a referendum then he must do so as soon as possible to clear up all uncertainty.
And they warned that if Greece does not agree to meet the terms of the debt deal hammered out last week by eurozone leaders, it will not get “one more cent” from the next planned instalment of EU and IMF bail-out.
Without this € 8-billion transfer, observers warn, Greece would face problems paying government salaries and a messy debt default within weeks.
Mr Papandreou agreed Greece’s future in the euro was at stake and said a vote could be called on December 4. He did not reveal the wording of the referendum question, but said he was sure Greek voters wanted to stay in the euro.
The Greek leader said after meeting the European leaders, “that we could move the referendum as soon as possible, organise it as soon as possible, and we believe that we can have a referendum on the 4th of December.”
He insisted that it was the “democratic right” of the Greeks to vote on the bailout plan — which foresees more tight austerity measures — but added: “I believe that the Greek people want to be in the eurozone.”
He conceded, however, that the popular vote put the country’s euro membership at stake: “This is a question of whether we want to remain in the euro zone. That’s very clear.”
Ms Merkel and Mr Sarkozy both said they hoped that Greece would stay on board, but warned that Athens would not get a free ride.
“The Greeks have to decide whether to continue the adventure with us or not,” warned Mr Sarkozy. “We hope to continue with the Greeks, but there are rules that have to be respected.”