German minister looks for investment in Greece
Germany has a duty to help Greece restructure its economy to boost business and investment as well as offering short-term debt relief, German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said before heading to Athens with a delegation of business leaders.
“In the spirit of solidarity, it is the task of all Europeans to help Greece get back on its feet economically and we want to take German firms to Greece,» Roesler told broadcaster ZDF on Thursday.
The minister, also head of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Free Democrat (FDP) junior coalition partners, has in the past taken a tough line on the debt crisis and argued that a Greek default should not be a taboo.
Roesler travels to Athens with some 60 German industry captains, including several from the renewable energy sector, in tow to explore investment opportunities and see how German know-how could help lift the Greek economy from its knees.
Roesler said Athens had to play its part.
“I expect clear structural reforms from the government,» he said, adding it was essential that measures that had been announced were actually implemented.
“We are not expecting the trip to result in billions worth of investment deals,» Roesler said.
“But it necessary to help rebuild Greek infrastructure and the economy. This crisis rests on two pillars, one is the debt, and the other is the lack of competitiveness in the economy and we want to work on that.”
[Reuters]
