Greece officially scraps referendum: minister

(ATHENS) - Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said Friday he had told his European partners that Greece had officially scrapped its plan for a referendum that had enraged leaders Europe-wide.

Venizelos said in a statement he had told EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker "of Greece's decision not to hold a referendum."

Until now, Greece had not officially binned the plans, with Prime Minister George Papandreou saying only that he was ready to scrap the referendum idea if the opposition backed a massive EU bailout plan.

Venizelos also told the EU officials that the aim of the confidence vote later Friday was to form a government of national unity.

"We want to obtain the largest consensus possible ... with the formation of a government in this sense," he said.

It remained unclear whether Papandreou would cling onto his post, but he told lawmakers late Thursday that he was not attached to his position, saying he was more interested in "saving the country."

The announcement came ahead of a pivotal confidence vote in parliament, which could spark the collapse of the government and plunge Greece and the eurozone into further turmoil.