Published January 20, 2010, 08:30 AM

Greece could crash euro

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. Keen to keep Greece from crashing the euro, European Union governments pressed the country Tuesday to stick to a painful austerity program that could cut its ballooning debt at the risk of social unrest.

BRUSSELS (AP) — 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.

Keen to keep Greece from crashing the euro, European Union governments pressed the country Tuesday to stick to a painful austerity program that could cut its ballooning debt at the risk of social unrest.

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