LUXEMBOURG (AP) ? The eurozone's financial chiefs faced tough decisions over how to deal with Greece's debt crisis on Monday after Athens' admission that its deficit will be higher than promised sent markets tumbling.
Greece's revelation calls into question whether Athens will receive the next installment of the bailout loan it needs to pay its day-to-day bills. If it doesn't receive euro8 billion ($10.8 billion) by mid-October, it could go bankrupt and would be unable to pay pensions and salaries.
Although the ministers have said they won't decide on the next payment at their meeting Monday in Luxembourg, the issue is sure to be high on the agenda.
Nervous investors are looking for any hint that European leaders might reconsider Greece's bailout terms to prevent its debt problems from spreading to other, larger eurozone economies.
European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn wouldn't be drawn out on what Greece's rescue creditors will do with the new information, saying only that they were still reviewing the data.
"We are currently assessing whether Greece will meet its fiscal targets with the current measures," Rehn said ahead of Monday's meeting. "I want to do our job first properly."
The news out of Athens confirmed investors' fears that even the country's dramatic spending cuts will not be enough to fulfill the promises it made to secure bailout loans from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It sent the euro plummeting to near-2011 lows against the dollar.
The announcement will force the eurozone to decide whether they will go ahead with a second euro109 billion rescue package tentatively agreed in July.
Germany, among others, has been pushing to reopen that deal but France, another European heavyweight, has pushed for it to hold. Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet next weekend to talk about the eurozone economic integration ? but the current crisis will surely also be on the table.
Greece said Sunday that the country will run a deficit of 8.5 percent of economic output, or euro18.69 billion ($25.2 billion), this year ? far above the promised euro17.1 billion ($23.1 billion), which would have been 7.8 percent of GDP.
Still, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told reporters on Monday that the country was making progress on its debts and promised that it had the ability to pull itself out of its debt hole.
"Greece is a country with structural difficulties, but Greece is not the scapegoat of the eurozone," he said as he headed into Monday's meeting. "We have the possibility and the capability to go ahead despite a deep recession."
Part of the problem is that since Greece's economy is shrinking, the government is taking in less and less money. That in turn means it has to cut even more to reduce the size of its deficit and make a dent in its debts.
In 2012, Athens' debts are projected to reach 172.7 percent of gross domestic product, while the deficit will drop to 6.8 percent.
Associated Pressshannon tweed don lapre chris carpenter chris carpenter aladdin ed reed weird al yankovic
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