Merkel warns Athens of threat to rescue deal

Financial Times
September 28, 2011

Angela Merkel, German chancellor, has warned Greece that a €109bn rescue package, approved by the 17 eurozone leaders in July, may have to be reviewed if Athens fails to meet deficit reduction targets agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The chancellor made the comments in an interview with Greek television, broadcast after she met George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, in Berlin on Tuesday. It followed a closed meeting with German parliamentarians where Ms Merkel was said to have warned that she could “not exclude” the possibility of a Greek default.

“We are naturally disappointed that it looks as if the figures in September are different from what we expected under the programme,” she told ERT, a Greek television channel.

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