EU Commissioner Oliver Rehn is in Athens to discuss Greek proposals to straighten out its government finances.
欧盟经济事务专员奥利·雷恩(Oliver Rehn)抵达雅典，计划讨论希腊政府提出的债务清理建议。
The European Union has urged Greece to implement greater austerity measures immediately to tackle a debt crisis that has shaken the entire bloc.
欧盟敦促希腊政府立即采取更加严厉的措施，处理债务危机，这场危机让整个欧盟集团受到强烈震动。
EU Finance Commissioner Olli Rehn made the call after a first round of talks with Greek officials amid growing market expectations of a trade-off between new deficit cutting steps and practical EU support for Greek borrowing.
欧盟经济事务专员奥利·雷恩同希腊官员举行首轮磋商后呼吁希腊政府立即采取上述措施。与此同时，越来越多的市场人士预期，欧盟要希腊政府采取新举措，削减财政赤字，同时也会向希腊提供实际的贷款援助。
The strength of the European currency has been under pressure since Greece's financial problems were revealed, with concern the problem could spread to other euro-zone countries.
希腊的财政困境暴露之后，欧元地位一直面临着压力，人们担心希腊债务危机会波及欧元区其他成员国。
Last week, the Greek Prime Minister called for more solidarity from the European Union over his country's debt crisis and announced plans to visit Germany, whose backing is vital for EU financial aid.
上星期，希腊总理呼吁欧盟能就希腊债务危机问题同希腊政府增加协作。他同时宣布访问德国，欧盟是否能对希腊提供财政援助，德国的态度十分关键。
Greek newspapers have spent the past week speculating on what further hardships citizens will face, including pension cuts, salary freezes and the prospect of job cuts.
希腊报纸上星期纷纷揣测，希腊民众面临的困境可能还会增加，其中可能包括削减退休金、冻结工资和解雇员工等。
Athens News Agency journalist Harry Theofanous says he cannot recall a worse crisis in the past two-decades. "I think the mood is very somber, I would call it," Theofanous said. "It is also a very deep crisis, its not just a wide lake - there is also depth to it."
雅典通讯社记者哈里·泰奥法诺(Harry Theofanous)说，在他的记忆中，这次危机是过去二十年来最严重的。泰奥法诺说：“我认为民众情绪忧郁。这也是一次非常严重的危机，不光是涉及面宽广，而且深不可测。”
Prime Minister George Papandreou has said he will do whatever it takes to save the economy, no matter how painful.
希腊总理帕潘德里欧说过，无论需要采取的措施多么严酷，他都会尽一切努力来拯救经济。
Greece has said it would reduced the government budget deficit from 12.7 percent to 8.7 percent during the next nine months.
希腊政府表示，会用九个月的时间，将政府财政赤字在国内生产总值中所占比重从12.7%降到8.7%。
There have been reports that Germany is considering buying Greek government bonds through a state-owned bank, as an emergency measure.
有报导说，德国正在考虑通过一家国有银行购买希腊政府债券，以解燃眉之急。
In two weeks, the European Union will consider whether high-debt countries will be forced to take austerity measures like introducing wage cuts, employment freezes and longer working weeks. By last weekend, the euro was trading at about $1.36, compared to $1.45 in December.
再过两个星期，欧盟将会考虑是否强迫债台高筑的成员国采取严厉措施，避免债务危机，这包括削减工资、冻结就业、延长每星期的工作时间等。 |