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Greek prime minister steps down

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Why you can trust SCMP

What?

What's been happening? Greece is in serious financial trouble. Other European Union countries are offering it a Euro130 billion (HK$1.4 trillion) bailout.

The Greek prime minister unexpectedly said he would ask the people of Greece to approve this rescue plan by holding a referendum - a national vote. This met strong opposition from France and Germany, the countries which had put up the most money for the bailout. The Greek leader decided to resign.

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Who?

Who was in charge? The Greek prime minister was George Papandreou. Now, an emergency 'unity coalition' - a government including all parties - may be formed.

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Why?

Why did Europe offer to give Greece so much money? Greece is one of the 17 countries which uses the euro as its currency. Although it is a small economy, it has huge debts. A failure to pay them may cause a domino effect and create similar problems for other debt-ridden euro-zone countries like Spain, Portugal and Italy.

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