Greece Moves to Tackle Debt Crisis

Greek Premier George Papandreou speaks during a press conference after his meeting with the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy in Athens on Jan. 12, 2010. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

In an attempt to tackle its debt crisis, Greece’s socialist government announced on Tuesday that it intends to raise the average pension age from 61 to 63 by 2015, and ban early retirement. It also plans to increase taxes and freeze public sector hiring and wages.

The measures have angered unions in the country, leading to the announcement of protests by civil servants. Greek farmers have already been protesting for weeks saying they want more government assistance.

Greece is trying to bring down its budget deficit to below 3 percent by 2012, which at the current level of 12.7 percent, is four times higher than allowed for Eurozone countries.