Greek prime minister George Papandreou has made a final appeal for support from deputies ahead of a vote on unpopular new austerity measures that will take place against the backdrop of one of the biggest strikes Greece has seen in years.
"I'm asking for your support. I'm asking for all parties' support but we will be the ones who will once again bear the burden of this decision," Papandreou told deputies from his ruling PASOK party.
He rejected any suggestion that Greece would be forced out of the euro as a result of the crisis that has left Athens dependent on foreign support to stave off bankruptcy and appealed to European partners for support.
Parliament is due to vote on measures that include tax hikes, wage cuts, public sector layoffs and changes to collective bargaining rules by Thursday.
Unions have called a 48-hour strike starting on Wednesday that is expected to shut down much of the country to protest against the measures.
Greece pays higher rates on 3-month debt
Greece raised €1.625 billion in a sale of three-month treasury bills today but had to offer a steeper interest of 4.61%, the debt management agency said.
The cost of borrowing rose from 4.56% offered to investors in an equivalent sale in September with total bids reaching €3.580 billion, the agency said.
The issue, which had an original target of €1.25 billion, came as markets eagerly awaited an EU response to the euro zone sovereign debt crisis at a Sunday summit.
Euro zone finance ministers are looking for ways of boosting the firepower of Europe's €440 billion bail-out fund, the EFSF, which financial experts say is needed to ensure the euro zone debt crisis, focused on near-bankrupt Greece, does not engulf the much larger Italian and Spanish economies.
