Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s position is in balance after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Sarkozy warned that his country would have to leave the euro zone if voters rejected a bailout plan.

“The referendum will revolve around nothing less than the question: does Greece want to stay in the euro, yes or no?” said the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while the French President said that Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government won’t get any assistance if voters reject the plan.

This comes after the Greek Prime Minister’s recent decision to call for a referendum which will establish whether Greek citizens want to take the USD 140 billion bailout loan deal proposed by the euro zone. His decision has been met with criticism not only across Europe, but amid Papandreou’s party as well. The Government he currently runs will face a vote of confidence on Friday this week.

This referendum will be the first in Greece since the country decided to abolish monarchy in 1974.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com