Major European stock markets rallied Thursday as German and French backing for the struggling Greek economy appeared to reassure investors that Athens will not be defaulting on its debts anytime soon.
German and French stock markets saw significant gains after positive report from a conference call between the Greek, German and French leaders late Wednesday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday they believe Greece should remain an integral part of the 17-nation euro zone despite a debt crisis that has forced Athens to seek emergency funds from its EU partners and the IMF.
Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy were speaking to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in a 25-minute telephone call late Wednesday. Mr. Papandreou said Greece will meet its commitments to implement austerity measures in return for international assistance.
Eurozone finance ministers will meet Friday in Poland to discuss the Greek debt crisis. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also will attend the talks.
欧洲主要股市星期四上涨。德国和法国表示支持在困境中挣扎的希腊经济。这看起来让投资者感到放心，相信雅典不会很快债务违约。
有报导说，希腊、德国和法国星期三晚些时候举行电话会议，效果积极。随后，德国和法国的股市大幅上涨。
德国总理默克尔和法国总统萨科齐星期三表示，他们相信，尽管希腊的债务危机迫使雅典从欧洲伙伴和国际货币基金组织寻求紧急救援资金，希腊应该继续留在欧元区当中。
星期三晚间，默克尔和萨科齐与希腊总理帕潘德里欧进行了长达25分钟的电话谈话，帕潘德里欧说，希腊将履行其紧缩预算计划，以获得更多国际支持。
欧元区各国财政部长星期五将在波兰举行会议讨论希腊的债务危机，美国财政部长盖特纳也将出席会议。