A week after member nations of the European Union opted to support an extended fund to bail out shaky euro zone economies, pressing developments are gathering speed that have been the cause of concern all over the globe.

The first was the call of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to call for parliamentary confidence vote and a referendum on the rescue deal early next year that tanked world stocks and the euro.

Another development is the declaration made by the interim head of the International Monetary Fund that Britain would need another six years and even longer to get back from the recession.

Matters may turn out to be more serious if euro leaders are unable to deal with the single currency crisis, according to economic projections.

Britain's recovery is dependent on the success of international bailouts in countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The Institute for Public Policy Research, a left-leaning consultative group, already predicts that the government's Office for Budget Responsibility is reducing its prediction for economic growth in December.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development pointed out that the world economy could be caught in a crisis similar to that produced by the 2008 banking collapse if the euro zone's problems were not efficiently managed.

The 10-year borrowing costs of France and Italy went up to the highest levels in relation to the standard German bunds since the creation of the euro in 1999. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been under duress to limit Europe's second-biggest debt load, convened a special meeting of advisers Tuesday to talk about budget-cutting plans.

Like President Nicolas Sarkozy, Berlusconi met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday. His key Cabinet ministers will meet Wednesday to formulate measures for the country's financial stability legislation, the Italian news agency ANSA said, quoting government officials.

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said that everyone is confused by Greece's referendum decision and that the issue will be raised during the Cannes summit.