The Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, has warned his country may not be able to pay the interest on its debt without more commitments from the EU.

Mr Papandreou has told European legislators that Greece will not even be able to sustain its austerity plan to get out of its financial crisis without the EU agreeing to lower interest rates for borrowed money.

He has said while Greece does not need money, it does need a guarantee of lower interest rates.

Mr Papandreou's government has already started the austerity plan, which includes higher taxes and pay freezes for government workers.