ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s government spokesman says a marathon Cabinet meeting has concluded with ministers expressing unanimous support for Prime Minister George Papandreou’s surprise decision to call for a referendum on a hard-won European plan to rescue the Greek economy.
Ilias Mossialos said early Wednesday that the referendum will be held “as soon as possible” once the basics tenets of the debt agreement have been reached.
Earlier, Papandreou said the referendum would be on the debt deal, Greece’s European course and its participation in the euro currency used by 17 European Union nations.
Papandreou’s referendum announcement was strongly criticized across Europe and caused stock markets around the world to plunge.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Greek government teetered and stock markets around the world plummeted Tuesday after a hard-won European plan to save the Greek economy was suddenly thrown into doubt by the prospect of a public vote.
One day after Prime Minister George Papandreou stunned Europe by calling for a referendum, the ripples reached from Athens, where some of his own lawmakers rebelled, to Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged almost 300 points.
Papandreou convened his
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