ECONOMY

German Finmin pushes Athens on reforms

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble has sent a clear message to Athens to push through tough reforms demanded by the country?s foreign creditors if it wants to remain solvent, noting that the debt-wracked country cannot depend on a constant stream of rescue funding.

?Greece must implement everything that has been agreed,? Schauble was quoted as telling the German radio station SWR2 on Monday. ?All the rescue packages in the world cannot help if the causes [of the problem] are not addressed,? he said.

The German minister, who has urged Greek leaders to accelerate negotiations aimed at writing down Greek debt held by private investors, acknowledged that Greece was ?striving? to push through reforms but added that ?progress could be quicker.? ?We are pushing for this,? he said.

Schauble?s comments came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to discuss a broader debt crisis in the eurozone.

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