Greece makes formal request to EU, IMF for financial bailout

The ongoing Grecian financial crisis that has been threatening to explode for quite some time now threw up a sudden surprise with prime minister George Papandreou formally asking the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to activate an emergency financial support package to help shore up public finances. He made his request Thursday.
As things were shaping up it appeared likely that Greece would default on major loan repayments due on 19 May.

His request drew out some positive responses with the European Commission saying Friday that Brussels would move quickly on the request.

"There is a real danger to the economy and we cannot accept that," Papandreou said in a televised adress."The time that the markets won't give us, the mechanism will."

"So we have decided to activate the mechanism provided by our European partners," he said.

The support mechanism foresees euro 30 billion in loans from eurozone countries and an estimated euro15 billion in standby credits from the IMF.

"This should send a strong message to the markets that Europe is not playing games and will protect its common interests and currency," Papandreou said.