Merkel says time running out for Greece deal

PanARMENIAN.Net - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that time is running out for a deal to keep Greece in the eurozone, BBC News reports.

Speaking after the G7 summit in Germany on Monday, June 8, she said Europe would show solidarity but only if Greece "makes proposals and implements reforms".

Earlier, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said it was time to stop finger-pointing and find an agreement.

Other topics on the agenda at the G7 summit were climate change, countering extremism and the war in Ukraine.

It was held at the picturesque Schloss Elmau hotel in the Bavarian Alps and was attended by the leaders of the U.S., UK, Japan, France, Canada and Italy.

Merkel, who hosted the event, said the Greek crisis had been a central part of discussions. She reiterated her desire for Greece to remain part of the eurozone, but said: "There isn't much time left. Everyone is working intensively. Every day counts now."

The European Commission is asking for further reforms to Greece's economy, including tax increases and cuts in civil servants' salaries and pensions, before the next €7.2bn tranche of bailout money can be released.

Greece has robustly rejected these proposals without some form of debt restructuring agreement in return. At the weekend, Varoufakis was quoted as saying the Commission's latest demands were "borderline insulting".

But speaking on a visit to the German capital Berlin on Monday, he told reporters: "It is time to stop pointing fingers at one another and it is time that we do our job... to come to an agreement."

Merkel is expected to meet with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of a European Union-Latin America summit in Brussels on Wednesday.