The European Central Bank announced a shakeup in responsibilities on its board yesterday

EU, IMF and ECB inspectors are expected in Athens mid-January to flash out the new bailout plan agreed in principle by EU leaders in October to avoid a Greek default and a euro exit. Opinion polls show Greek voters want the government to do all it takes to stay in the euro even if they disagree with austerity reforms. Asked if the government would have to take extra austerity measures to make up for last year's fiscal slippages, Mr Kapsis said: "We will see. There could be a need for extra measures." The talks with bankers on a debt swap deal that is a key aspect of the rescue plan are particularly difficult. "The next three to fourth months are the most crucial and that is the reason this government exists," Mr Kapsis said. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said in a New Year's Eve address over the weekend that Greece must stick to reforms to stay in the euro.if Greece had left the Euro months ago they would already be on the road to recovery. Instead they are receiving special drawing rights SDR's the New World Order currency from the IMF and getting deeper and deeper in trouble. Just go bankrupt Greece and save what you got left, democracy, people will win this battle if you don't, we are all doomed to having chips under our skin and a world currency.

The European Central Bank announced a shakeup in responsibilities on its board yesterday, as two new members arrived to replace Jürgen Stark, the German member who resigned amid controversy about the bank's role in the spiraling sovereign debt crisis, and Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi of Italy. Peter Praet, a Belgian technocrat who was already a member of the ECB governing council, has been handed the role of chief economist previously held by the hawkish Axel Weber, who left last year after expressing skepticism about the ECB's bond-buying program, which has helped to drive down Spanish and Italian borrowing costs. Praet was given the job ahead of ECB newcomers Jörg Asmussen, from Germany, and Frenchman Bernard Coeure. That decision avoids a potential controversy about whether a German or French number-cruncher should have the role, at a time when Paris and Berlin have different views about the ECB's responsibilities in tackling the sovereign debt crisis. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has made clear he would like to see the ECB acting as a lender of last resort, a view shared by Britain; but German chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly rejected the idea, fearful it could unleash inflation.