French and German leaders demanded that Greece stick to the conditions for a bailout fund and said a Greek referendum on them should take place by early December. Their call comes following a crisis meeting ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Cannes.
Following a meeting with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, Europe's two heavyweights France and Germany demanded that an agreement by Europeans leaders to bailout Greece must be respected.
At a late night news conference on Wednesday, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who is hosting the meeting of the Group of 20 major economies, said that if the rules are not respected neither the European Union nor the International Monetary Fund can put in a cent to help bail out Greece, which is drowning in debt.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says a Greek referendum on the conditions for a European bailout must happen by the beginning of December.
The remarks by the two leaders come as heads of state of the Group of 20 nations meet in Cannes Thursday and Friday to discuss a host of issues, from helping developing nations to obliterating tax havens. But the Greek crisis - and the larger eurozone debt problems -- are overshadowing this meeting of leading world economies.
Mr. Sarkozy says that while the Greeks are free to make their decision via the referendum, the Europeans as a whole are accountable for the stability of the eurozone - and for European solidarity and the rules that all members should abide by.