The Greek prime minister urged his country to accept unpopular spending cuts as the price to pay for an international debt bailout, as trade unions geared up for rallies to protest the plan.
Prime Minister George Papandreou warned that the nation's survival was at stake, ahead of a crucial meeting of eurozone finance ministers called to discuss a giant international debt bailout for Greece.
"Today what is most important is the survival of the nation, that is our red line," Papandreou told the Greek parliament.
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"The measures which we must take... are necessary for the protection of our country, for our survival, for our future," he said.
Finance chiefs of the 16 euro nations are set to meet in Brussels for talks on Sunday chaired by Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
But Greek union leaders have called for rallies on Saturday, May 1, the traditional day for labour marches and protests, to oppose the austerity plan that any bailout would entail.
They have already launched some work stoppages and have called a 24-hour general strike by public and private sector workers for Wednesday, May 5.
Already on Thursday, police fired tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators trying to march on the finance ministry to protest against the cuts. Further clashes erupted outside parliament.
According to union officials who have spoken to Papandreou, the IMF and EU are demanding wage cuts, lower pensions and higher taxes.
They said the EU and IMF were demanding spending cuts of 25 billion euros ($A35.68 billion) in the next two years on top of sacrifices already made.
Euro nations to 'give blessing'
A diplomatic source in Brussels told AFP that the finance ministers meeting on Sunday would "give their blessing, but not trigger" the release of funds.
A summit of European leaders on May 7 or 8 was the most likely final step in agreeing emergency loans for Greece worth tens of billions of euros, the source added.
But some parliaments, including in Germany, still have to vote on the bailout before final approval by Europe's heads of state and government.
May 19 deadline
Greece, whose public deficit rose to an estimated 13.6 per cent of gross domestic product last year, is racing to beat a May 19 deadline to secure funding that would avoid a devastating debt default.
German politicians have said the loan package could be worth as much as 120 billion euros ($A171.28 billion) over three years.
European officials have previously talked about 45 billion euros ($A64.23 billion) being made available this year at a rate of "around five per cent."
But EU leaders have also made clear that Greece will have to implement tougher austerity measures in return for the money.
Foreign banks are exposed to $US236.2 billion ($A254.69 billion) of public and private debt in Greece, nearly a third of it held by French banks, data from the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland showed.
Of the total involving Greek debt of all types, a share of some $US188.6 billion ($A203.36 billion) was held by European banks, according to the BIS.
While fears persist that the crisis could spread to other heavily indebted European nations, markets appear to have been reassured by the news that some kind of a bailout for Greece was imminent.
