Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou says his country has lost international credibility and is in danger of drowning in debt.

Papandreou made the comments during a speech to business and union leaders Monday in which he outlined measures to pull Greece out of its worst debt crisis in decades. He pledged to bring the deficit, currently projected at 12.7 percent of economic output for 2009, to below the European Union limit of 3 percent by 2013.

The prime minister called for unity, saying that in the next three months his government would take decisions that have been put off for decades. Papandreou said, "Greece faces the risk of sinking under its debt," and the country "has lost every trace of credibility." He added that the markets want to see action.

Greece's debt has soared to a staggering 300 billion euros ($442 billion).