Thousands of Greeks joined a 24-hour general strike to protest against the government’s latest austerity measures amid worries over the Greece’s debt crisis after euro-zone officials failed to agree on the shape of a second aid package for Greece.
Thousands of workers walked off the job Wednesday to join a general strike, the third so far this year which has been organized to protest the government’s latest austerity package of €28 billion. Union representing 2.5 million workforce also launched a nationwide strike, shutting government offices, ports, schools and reducing hospitals to very scarce staff on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the European officials in their meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, failed to agree on the Greece debt crisis solution, which unnerved investors and resulted in a sharp fall in the European and the US stock markets Wednesday.
Adding fears to the investors, the Standard & Poor’s rating agency on Monday downgraded Greece’s credit rating to CCC, saying that there is “a significantly higher likelihood of one or more defaults,” as defined by its criteria on full and timely payment.
During the meeting, there were sharp divisions in thoughts between the European Central Bank and Germany in particular over the potential role of the private sector in a new bailout, with the ECB opposing any move that could be perceived as default.
The Financial Times, citing a briefing paper by the European Commission, said, that a German plan to reschedule Greek debt could cost an additional $20.7 billion (20 billion euros). The money may be necessary to recapitalize Greek banks if the maturities on Greek government bonds are extended
