E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Tobias Schwarz / Reuters
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras attend a welcome ceremony before talks in Berlin on August 24, 2012.
The Associated Press reports from Berlin — The new Greek prime minister's hopes of winning more time from creditors to implement reforms and spending cuts faced a tough test in deeply skeptical Germany on Friday as he met Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Merkel greeted Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at the chancellery with a businesslike handshake and military honors.
In a charm offensive in German and French media this week, Samaras has been arguing that his nation should have more time beyond the mid-2014 deadline to complete reforms that are a condition of it continuing to receive bailout loans. Without the help, Greece would be forced into a chaotic default on its debts and could be forced out of the eurozone. Read the full story.
Guido Bergmann / Bundesregierung via AFP - Getty Images
EDITOR'S NOTE: Image released by the German federal government.
Angela Merkel and Antonis Samaras hold talks at the beginning of their meeting on August 24, 2012 on the roof of the Chancellery in Berlin.
•Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter
Leave a Comment:
Just show Greece the door !!!!
Give them a pat on the back and wish them well. Leaving the E.U. is the only way that Greece has left to save itself. True it will be a long and rough road to travel , but it is the only option left. If Iceland could rebuild it's economy from default and get itself out of debt than so can Greece. Bail outs just lead to more bail outs and even deeper indebtedness .
What's the big mystery? It's Germany throwing good money after bad Greek money. It's very very simple kitchen table economics ---- you don't spend more than you have.
You either do this as a family (or a nation) or you don't.
But don't worry, the U.S. is in the same boat as Greece.
Why can't people understand that the true forces of SUPPLY AND DEMAND are what GROW AN ECONOMY!!!!!!!!
Romney/Ryan 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again, they want more time to pay the piper just as they always do. That is what got them into this trouble in the first place. They have no intention of paying this money back and never have had. The Germans need to admit the Euro is a failure for some countries and a winner for others. Greece needs to get out of the Euro as does Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland. All they do is borrow and borrow and borrow and do not collect their taxes and do not force their governments to abide by auterity measures. Does this sound familiar USA?????????
Can we have more time?
Oh and can we get 6 weeks vacation, retire at 55 and be by far the most unproductive country in the EU?
Thanks!!!
It is not the PM who is trouble,it is the citizenry who must face decades of tax evasion habits and a reliance on tourists.Hawaii faces the same problems as Greece.
You cannot project revenues if you cannot enforce tax laws.Nor can you create tourists out of thin air.
How old is this problem? Since the dawn of time.
In the old days peasants buried their crops or closed the barn doors when tax agents appeared.Today they have offshore accounts.
In the old days cities attracted tourists with relics,prostitution,fine silks,tea,entertainment.Today you have a global economy and you can go to the beach in Thailand,Philippines,South Africa,Mexico,Cuba.
US is the same as Greece, with borrowed money to pay for almost half of total spending and over 1 trillion dollar deficit a year since Obama took office. Congress and this president or next one have no plan so far to pay down the debt/deficit but keep asking for more time down the road.
the only difference between Greece and US is that we can print more money and pretend we have no money problem, while Greece has to ask Germany for money.
it is a pathetic trend in both Greece and US. Germany on the other hand is only sane country in the world.
We've played the same game as Greece for the last 30 years and both parties encouraged it. You simply cannot live by over spending your means. Here in the US, it's almost like everyone is jealous of those who have made it big. Now, the truth is that those people, for the most part, earned it and we have people who think they should share their fortune with them. Go figure.