Global General

Finnish PM worried about Greek bailout

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-06 16:40

HELSINKI - Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said Wednesday night that if the economic crisis in Greece cannot be brought to an end, there is a danger that a financial crisis could spread to the rest of Europe and bring on a new recession.

Vanhanen, who was speaking in an interview with the Finnish Broadcasting Company, said he was worried about the possible failure of the European Union's aid package for Greece.

According to Vanhanen, it is essential that the Greek parliament approves a package of austerity measures and that other countries commit to supporting Greece, as has been agreed.

"The main concern is whether or not this will all hold together. The question is can a solution be achieved that calms the situation in Greece so that this does not spread into a European-wide recession," he said.

Vanhanen compared the situation to the subprime lending crisis in the United States which caused a worldwide downward spiral. The impact was felt in Finland as well.

"Our gross domestic product declined by 8 percent last year. We permanently lost over 10 billion euros in tax revenues," said Vanhanen.