Portugal bailout: PM Jose Socrates boasts £70bn deal is ‘better than Ireland and Greece’
As Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates, pictured, announced the deal, critics branded the situation ‘grotesque and unfair’ at a time of public spending cuts.
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President Barroso and prime minister Papandreou discussed the current economic situation in Greece. Barroso praised the Greek prime minister for his “remarkable efforts over the last couple of months” to put Greece on track to achieve fiscal consolidation. The ECOFIN Council has “fully endorsed the Commission’s assessment on the Greek situation.” President Barroso also reiterated that the Eurogroup has “clarified the modalities of a coordinated assistance to Greece, should that be necessary”. He confirmed that at the stage prime minister Papandreou has not requested such a mechanism.
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