Trouble-shooters from the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF descended on Greece yesterday to check on its bid to tame rampant debt on the eve of a general strike against austerity measures.
Greece's government overspending reached 12.7 per cent of output in 2009 as the global downturn sent public deficits through the roof, putting government bonds under pressure, weakening the euro and pushing the eurozone into crisis.
Under acute pressure from its 15 eurozone partners, the Socialist Greek government has pledged to slash its deficit to 8.7 per cent this year, agreeing to painful public spending cuts that sparked the strike call set for today.
The EU has pledged support for Greece but has also ordered strict monitoring for its deficit-cutting programme, sending the three-party team on the first of a string of visits to make sure Athens is on the right track.
"It is a purely technical visit, to examine progress on the Greek plan and provide any help necessary," said a ministry official who requested anonymity.
No meetings were planned with the Greek government, except perhaps a courtesy call with the finance minister, and there is no question of the team asking Greece to approve new austerity measures, the official said.
Air, rail and maritime transport are expected to grind to a halt today as public and private sector downed tools from midnight in anger at the prospect of cuts to benefits or delaying the retirement age to 63.
Called by the powerful GSEE workers' confederation and backed by the civil servant union, today's strike is to shut down schools, government offices and courtrooms, with disruption to banks, hospitals and state-owned companies. Greece is also facing a news blackout after the strike received backing from the national journalists' union, which penalises members for breaking ranks.
Athens metro and bus lines will run a skeleton service to allow strikers to get to the street demonstrations planned in the city centre.
Around 200 communist union activists rallied at the door of the Athens stock market yesterday with banners reading "The rich must pay for the crisis", barring staff from entering but without disrupting market operations.
Despite the scale of the strike, polls suggest that more than six out of 10 Greeks support the government's austerity plans, and three-quarters say social conflicts should be put on hold until the financial crisis is settled.
Yesterday's check-up talks kicked off with the head of a finance ministry experts' council, Georges Zanias, with further meetings scheduled for today and tomorrow with the Greek Central Bank and labour ministry, the ministry said.
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday its staff member was sent to assist the monitoring team at the European Union's request.