Portugal has announced that it is following Greece and Ireland in seeking emergency aid from the international community as sovereign debts leapt out of control following the failure of a new round of austerity measures, according to The Daily Telegraph. On Wednesday, Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates gave in to mounting pressure to accept a bailout, turning to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for aid that economists have predicted could total as much as €80 billion.
Sócrates said, “I have always said that asking for aid would be the final way to go, but we have reached the moment,” and European Commission president José Manuel Barroso sought to assure markets that aid would be offered “in the swiftest possible manner.” The IMF also confirmed its readiness to aid Portugal in meeting its borrowing needs, and the news has sparked speculation that the U.K. could offer a bilateral loan of as much as €5 billion.