Europe Debt Crisis, Austerity Package | featured news

Italy’s Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of a package aimed at eliminating Italy’s budget deficit by 2013 and stimulating its economy as part of a broader plan to stabilize the euro.

Greece's new prime minister, Lucas Papademos, won a crucial confidence vote Wednesday on severe austerity measures to be made in exchange for more bailout funds to help the country step back from the brink of bankruptcy.

Greece will miss a deficit target set just months ago in a massive bailout package, according to government draft budget figures released on Sunday, showing that drastic steps taken to avert bankruptcy may not be enough.

Greeks expressed their misery on Monday at the erosion of their daily lives by austerity measures demanded by international lenders in exchange for bailout funds, ahead of a key parliamentary vote on extra property tax.

Italy and Spain pass new measures as they battle to control their debts while Greece steps up its austerity plans.

The Italian austerity budget worth nearly 48 billion euros was approved by the upper house of parliament on Thursday, overcoming its first parliamentary hurdle.

Under the plan, French banks would give Athens more time to pay back loans as they come due over the next three years.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou sacrificed his finance minister on Friday and put his main socialist party rival into the job in a bid to force through an unpopular austerity plan and avert bankruptcy.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned Wednesday and warned of grave consequences for the country after parliament rejected his government's latest austerity measures aimed at avoiding a bailout.

The budget plan for 2011 is aimed at reassuring nervous lenders that the country can avoid a bailout by meeting its deficit-cutting targets.