奥巴马承诺支持希腊经济改革

 　　WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday pledged continued support for economic reform in debt-ridden Greece.

　　"The United States wants to continue to be helpful and supportive in what will be a challenging process," said Obama after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

　　"The stakes are high for not only Greece, but also Europe and the world economy."

　　Obama said Greece will succeed in tiding over the crisis. "I think Prime Minister Samaras is committed to taking the tough actions that are required, but also, understandably, wants to make sure that the Greek people see a light at the end of the tunnel."

　　Besides austerity, he urged economic policies that would create jobs and growth.

　　"It's important that we have a plan for fiscal¹ consolidation² to manage the debt, but it's also important that growth and jobs are our focus," he said.

　　Samaras also expressed confidence. Greek people have made huge sacrifices, and they were not going to stop this effort, he said. Greece needs development, jobs and growth, and is going to do what has to be done, said the prime minister.

　　Greece is carrying out painful economic reforms in exchange for a massive international bailout program funded by the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary³ Fund (IMF).

　　The IMF warned late last month that the bailout program was likely to need more money over the next two years because Greece failed to meet reform goals. The EU and the IMF have committed about 240 billion euros (320 billion U.S. dollars) in rescue loans to Greece.

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。