Portugal asks for bailout, EU sets aid
Lisbon, Portugal (AHN) – Portugal’s caretaker government announced Wednesday it has asked the European Commission for financial assistance.
Resigned Prime Minister José Sócrates, said on national television that the bailout was of national interest because rates for borrowings has risen and is no longer sustainable.
Opposition leader Pedro Passos Coelho of the Social Democratic party also delivered a televised statement supporting Socrates’ decision.
Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the EC, said Portugal’s request for bailout funds will be processed swiftly according to rules.
Yields for Portuguese government debt rose to its highest level this week as a result of the country’s downgrading by credit rating agencies. One-year Treasury bills sold for $650 million had an average yield of nearly 6 percent compared to 4.3 percent last month.
Local bank officials did not want to take on more sovereign debt and urged the government to negotiate for an EU loan.
The bailout for Portugal is expected to amount to $107 billion. The figure will allow the country to borrow $28 billion it needs for the year.
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