Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. IMF: Greek Debt Crisis Threat to Eurozone VOA News 28 April 2010 European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, the International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, from left, talk after a news conference following a meeting with German lawmakers in Berlin Photo: AP European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, the International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, from left, talk after a news conference following a meeting with German lawmakers in Berlin, 28 April 2010 The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning any mishandling of the Greek debt crisis could hurt Europe's financial future. IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Wednesday the world's confidence in the eurozone is at risk, and that every day that countries delay helping Greece makes the situation worse. Strauss-Kahn traveled to Berlin with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the Greek debt crisis. Greece has already asked to access a joint European Union-IMF aid package worth as much as $60 billion, but some European officials said Wednesday that the cost of the bailout could eventually jump to about $160 billion over three years. Some German lawmakers oppose plans to help bail out debt-ridden Greece, and Trichet urged them to approve aid "extremely rapidly." Separately, the German ambassador to Greece promised Wednesday that Germany "will not let down Greece." Concerns about the ability of Greece, and other financially troubled European countries to repay debts, rose after the Standard and Poor's credit rating agency downgraded Greek bonds to speculative or "junk" status on Tuesday. The agency also slashed Portugal's sovereign debt by two notches. The downgrades scared some investors and many European stocks declined in Wednesday's trading. It also led Greek officials to ban a type of stock trading known as "short selling," in which investors profit only if the stock loses money. The ban will remain in place until late June. During a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said his government was committed to fix the country's economy. He also called on all EU members to prevent the crisis from spreading like a fire to other parts of Europe and the rest of the world. Some officials have expressed optimism. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said negotiations on Greece's debt among European nations are "on track" to loan money to Greece before Athens must make its next debt payment, due on May 19.  European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj also said Wednesday that officials "will be ready to meet Greece's needs" and that the EC has asked Portugal to be ready to take additional action.  Portugal's prime minister and the leader of the main opposition party met Wednesday and pledged to work together to help save the Portuguese economy. Despite concerns about Portugal, and Spain, a German government spokesman said the debt situation in those countries is not comparable to the problems in Athens. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. .