EU leaders closed one chapter in the debt crisis late yesterday with a new treaty supposed to end deficits -- then launched a big final push to resolve Greece's bailout woes.
European Union president Herman Van Rompuy called for a new deal with Athens "by the end of the week" on the conditions underpinning the long-delayed second bailout for Greece.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos went immediately into post-summit talks with top officials from the EU and the European Central Bank (ECB).
In October last year, Greece was promised a second bailout of 130 billion euros ($171 billion) if it could convince private investors to write off 100 billion euros of debt.
That deal is still to be finalised, as is a reassessment of Greece's debt sustainability.
Eurozone partners' handling of the Greece issue in the intervening months reached a nadir when Germany at the weekend suggested placing the Athens government under wardenship.
"It would not be reasonable, not democratic and not efficient," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said of the plan put to finance ministries.
Greece's education minister had called the idea "the...
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