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Athens -Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Thursday came out against embattled Prime Minister George Papandreou's plan for a referendum on whether the debt-hit country should stay in the euro.
"Greece's place in the euro is a historical conquest by
the Greek people that cannot be placed in question... this cannot be made
dependent on a referendum," he said in a statement after returning from
Group of 20 talks in Cannes.
Papandreou, who is facing a political revolt at home over
his referendum plan, had been summoned to Cannes by angry eurozone leaders
concerned that a hard-fought EU deal on Greece's debt would be fatally
undermined as a result.
The beleaguered leader later agreed that Greece's future in
the euro was at stake and said a vote could be called on December 4.
He did not reveal the exact wording of the referendum
question, but said he was sure Greek voters wanted to stay in the euro.
"It is about whether we want to stay in the eurozone or
not," Papandreou told reporters before returning to Athens.
European leaders have warned Papandreou that if Greece does not respect the terms of the debt deal hammered out last week the country will not get "one more cent" from the next planned instalment of European and International Monetary Fund bailout.
