Greece Massive Debt to EU

WHO: EU finance ministers are pressing their indebted and riot-prone Balkan member to embrace a massive austerity plan and plug its debilitating deficit. But with markets skeptical and the appetite for more bailouts at a low, there are deepening concerns that a Greek meltdown could deal a severe blow to the very European idea of a common currency, and set off a domino effect through Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

On Tuesday, some European Union leaders said they were confident that Greece would pull itself out its debt crisis under a plan submitted by Prime Minister George Papandreou, who promises to cut expenditure and tighten the country's notoriously leaky tax system.

When:On Monday, the 16 countries that use the euro announced an overhaul of how euro nations coordinate their economies, with formal warnings for states that running much higher inflation or average wages than their neighbors.

What: Stannard cited the risk of investors losing their appetite for Greek bonds, 70 percent of which are held by foreigners. "If foreign investors from outside the eurozone start to turn their back on Greek assets, this will have a significant negative impact on the euro."

Bigger, better off countries such as Germany would be faced with leading a bailout, but it's not certain that their leaders — or voters — would agree. Meanwhile, other countries with heavy debt loads — Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland — would have to pay more to borrow if investors flee government bonds because of Greece.

Why: Greece is implementing the debt reduction measures and seek the power to audit Greek statistics — which the EU says have been falsified under political pressure in the past.

Papandreou is saying the right things to calm markets, but it is uncertain that he can push them through in a country where many look to the government as a jobs provider, and where political unrest can easily boil over into confrontations on the streets — as they did in December 2008 rioting after police shot a 15-year-old boy.

How important: Greece's two largest trade union groups are threatening strikes to protest the government's efforts which they say are unfair measures that target the poor instead of the rich.