German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly admitted to feeling an “inner involvement” for Greece during the recent tense negotiations ahead of the disbursement of its latest bailout tranche.
Speaking to foreign journalists on Monday evening, the German chancellor insisted that she had a passion for keeping Europe together and making it stronger.
"People have different personalities, but caring and love for Europe are not something I am lacking,» she said.
With regards to Greece, Merkel insisted that she had been personally troubled by the country’s plight.
"I can say I have never thought about Greece so much in my entire life and this is not possible without a certain inner involvement,» she said, according to comments reported by EUobserver.com
"Europe is so connected that Greece, Spain, Portugal and Germany cannot be held separately, we are all in the same boat. My entire personality is devoted to this, because I want Europe to be successful, especially when it comes to globalisation,"
Merkel conducted on October 9 her only visit to Greece since the crisis began. Thousands of Greeks protested against what they see as unfair austerity policies driven by Germany.
The chancellor, however, insisted that Europe needs to get its public finances in order so it can be ready for future challenges.
"If one day we'll have so much debt that nobody will trust us to ever pay it back, then we'll be in a very difficult situation,” she told journalist. “I don't want us to become dependent on other parts of the world, but to determine our own future.”
She added that despite the pain of the current fiscal consolidation, the eurozone needed to continue its adjustment.
“We still have a distance to go,” Merkel said. “Still, I’m convinced that our path has been the right one, even if it’s meant a huge challenge for many people in Europe -- the biggest and most difficult of those being youth unemployment.”
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