BRUSSELS. March 19. KAZINFORM Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou Thursday called for a clear European Union (EU) aid plan for his debt-laden country or he would turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Kazonform refers to Xinhua.

Greece might not need money from the EU, but a clear aid plan would thwart speculation, Papandreou told the European Parliament here.

"When you have that instrument in place, that could be enough to tell the markets: hands off, no speculation," Papandreou said at a press conference at the parliament.

The prime minister said Greece had put forward additional austerity measures in early March and its tough austerity program "cannot sustain" if the market did not act positively and the country had to borrow money at higher rates to refinance its debt.

He warned that, if the EU could not agree on an aid plan, Greece might have to turn to the IMF for help.

"We have talked to the IMF, they would have asked us for nothing more," he said.

Earlier on Monday, Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said after the monthly meeting of Eurozone finance ministers that the ministers "clarified modalities enabling a decision on coordinated action and which could be activated swiftly in the case of need".

But Juncker said the final decision on how to help Greece was "up to the European Council" but that might not happen until the Council's next meeting on March 25-26; Kazonform cites Xinhua.

See www.xinhuanet.com/english2010/ for full version