By IRNA,
Berlin : The European Union has approved a drastic austerity program for Greece, the German press agency dpa reported from Brussels on Tuesday.
As part of the plan, Athens will be required to reduce its budget deficit by four percentage points and to bring public finances under control within the next three years, unnamed diplomats were quoted saying on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers in the Belgian capital.
European Union finance ministers warned Greece earlier that it will have to step up tough budget cuts if it can’t prove by mid-March that an existing austerity program will shrink its huge deficit this year.
Greece’s financial problems have plunged the euro into the most serious crisis since it was created 11 years ago, as traders are conncerned over a likely default of one of its members.