![The [Greek] European Tragedy](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OSMAuv1xvEY/UUpsO5__BaI/AAAAAAAABsg/DZGqo9w12Ek/s920/GkBack_new.jpg)
Phillip Inman guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 March 2012 16.00 GMT
Bailouts, austerity, riots and bond swaps - key events in the run-up to Friday's news that investors in Greece have agreed to write off 75% of their loans
Greece's prime minister Lucas Papademos. Photograph: Alexandros Beltes/EPA
18 October 2009 George Papandreou's new socialist government reveals a black hole in government accounts. He admits the budget deficit will be double the previous government's estimate and will hit 12% of GDP. FTSE falls 200 points to 5042
8 December 2009 Fitch ratings agency downgrades Greece's credit rating from A- to BBB+. Borrowing costs begin an upwards spiral made worse after rival ratings agencies S&P and Moody's begin moves that soon categorise Greek debt as junk.
4 March 2010 Greece announces a major austerity plan. An increase in VAT and tax on cigarettes and alcohol is coupled with a freeze on pensions and cap on civil servants' pay.
26 March 2010 German chancellor Angela Merkel agrees under pressure to a "last resort" rescue package for Greece after debt downgrades on Portugal and Ireland force her into a U-turn. FTSE climbs to 5771
23 April 2010 Papandreou calls for a eurozone-IMF rescue package following steep rise in borrowing costs. FTSE falls more than 600 points to 5123
2 May 2010 Eurozone finance ministers agree to rescue Greece with €110bn (£92bn) in loans over three years. A week later ministers announce a €500bn eurozone rescue fund.
7 July 2010 Parliament passes pension reform, a key requirement of the EU/IMF deal, and raises women's retirement age from 60 to match men at 65.
23 April 2011 European commission says Greek budget deficit is again worse than expected, at 13.6% of GDP. Second Greek crisis begins.
13 June 2011 Greece gets the lowest credit rating in the world after S&P downgrades it by three notches, to CCC from B.
29 June 2011 Greek parliament passes second austerity bill after two days of violent protests during which some 300 protesters and police are injured. The package contains severe spending cuts and tax increases. The EU had set passage of the bill as a precondition for further aid.
3 July 2011 European finance ministers postpone a decision on a second bailout. Greece on edge of collapse. Markets dive again. Borrowing costs for Italy and Spain begin to rise.
2 October 2011 Athens says Greece cannot meet the 2011 and 2012 deficit targets agreed with the international lenders, blaming a deeper recession than forecast.
31 October 2011 Papandreou stuns markets and eurozone leaders by calling for a referendum on the EU/IMF rescue plan agreed only days earlier. The plan calls for private creditors to take a 50% writedown and allows for €130bn of fresh bailout loans.
5 November 2011 The leaders of Greece's two largest political parties form a government of national unity, but it soon collapses. Papandreou confirms on television four days later that he will resign, ushering in Lucas Papademos, a former central banker, as prime minister.
8 December 2011 European Central Bank offers massive loans to banks to avert second credit crunch as fear of Greek collapse undermines confidence in European banking sector.
16 November 2011 Papademos wins confidence vote in parliament before embarking on two months of on/off talks in Brussels.
14 December 2011 The IMF says reforms are running behind schedule in most areas and the delays are stalling recovery.
28 January 2012 Greece reaches tentative deal with its private creditors to significantly reduce the country's debt, but Germans persist in limiting loans and demanding more austerity cuts.
9 February 2012 After repeated delays and all-night talks with leaders of the three Greek coalition parties and EU and IMF inspectors, political leaders clinch a deal on government cuts in return for new rescue loans. Cuts include 22% off the minimum wage, 15% off pensions and 15,000 public sector jobs. Unemployment rises to 21%, a new record, after austerity measures already in place.
21 February 2012 After more than 12 hours of talks, eurozone countries reach agreement to hand Greece €130bn, needed in time for the country to refinance €14bn of loans on 20 March. The deal is expected to bring Greece's debt down to 120% of GDP by 2020, around the maximum that the IMF and eurozone consider sustainable.
9 March 2012 Athens announces results of bond swap offer. In effect, banks agree to write off 75% of the value of their loans.
