Riots add to woes in Greece
The Greek authorities are coming under more pressure as the announcement of wage cuts in the public sector sparks a number of riots across the country. This is the latest stage in what is certain to be short-term pain for medium to long term gain but this is no good for those caught up in the Greek budget deficit issue.
Despite coming out fighting last week and complaining about the speed at which the European Union has reacted to the problem, the Greek authorities are now under pressure from not only EU leaders but unions in the private and public sector. The need to slash the country's ballooning budget deficit is there for all to see and those caught up in the issue are obviously going to fight their own corner.
In simple terms, the EU has now confirmed that no financial assistance will be forthcoming until the Greek authorities announce significant spending cuts across the board. The only hope is that the authorities can at least come to some kind of short-term arrangement with the unions and with workers to at least try and stabilise the situation before it gets any worse. We need to see a concerted effort from all parties involved in the short term otherwise the potential implications are disastrous.
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