The European Union vowed on Wednesday to hold Greece strictly to an austerity plan to tackle the most severe debt crisis in the euro zone as market turmoil widened with Portugal giving investors a new fright.
The European Commission put Athens on an unprecedented short leash, demanding an interim report by mid-March on progress in reducing its huge deficit, and quarterly updates thereafter, partly due to accumulated mistrust of Greek statistics.
The EU executive conditionally approved Greece's three-year fiscal plan but said further cuts in public sector wages would be required if, as many economists believe, measures announced so far are insufficient to meet steep deficit-reduction targets.
Greek bonds and stocks rose briefly in response to Brussels' approval, but markets dipped again and ended in negative territory after fellow euro zone weakling Portugal cut a planned treasury bill issue due to high borrowing costs.
The European Commission put Athens on an unprecedented short leash, demanding an interim report by mid-March on progress in reducing its huge deficit, and quarterly updates thereafter, partly due to accumulated mistrust of Greek statistics.
The EU executive conditionally approved Greece's three-year fiscal plan but said further cuts in public sector wages would be required if, as many economists believe, measures announced so far are insufficient to meet steep deficit-reduction targets.
Greek bonds and stocks rose briefly in response to Brussels' approval, but markets dipped again and ended in negative territory after fellow euro zone weakling Portugal cut a planned treasury bill issue due to high borrowing costs.
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