Greek leader warns Berlin that EU at risk if no aid

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou implicitly criticised Germany on Saturday for opposing efforts to help his country out of its fiscal crisis, warning they risked destabilising the EU. "We have struggled for years to build a strong Europe, economically stable and with social solidarity," Papandreou said at a meeting of the national council of his socialist PASOK party.
But "many forces forget the political importance of the euro, and are withdrawing the substance of the political vision of the European project, which is a joint effort to develop our economy in a calm and stable climate," he added. "In the end this could destabilise the EU, lead it in the opposite direction to that of those who inspired and created a united Europe and its common currency," warned the Greek prime minister.
Papandreou's comments came a day after a German official indicated that Berlin was open to the possibility of the International Monetary Fund helping Greece, throwing into doubt a plan for the other 15 countries which use the euro to help Athens meet its borrowing needs. After taking office last year Papandreou's government revealed the country's finances were in a much worse state than had been publicly disclosed, forcing it to make painful spending cuts and tax hikes to fix its public finances - triggering strikes and violent protests on the streets of Athens.
This has raised concerns whether investors will buy the Greek government's bonds, and at what price, as Athens must roll over this year some 50 billion euros of its more than 300 billion euros in debt. "Greece will not default" and it has "the capacity to get the country out of the current crisis," Papandreou told party leaders.
He appealed for EU leaders to help his country borrow more cheaply when they meet on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. "We are not demanding that anyone pay for our mistakes and our debts... but we are asking for political support against speculators and the chance to borrow at rates that allow us to breathe," said the prime minister.