German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday ruled out an imminent breakthrough in the Greek financial crisis, dpa reported. "There is still a very difficult way to go," Merkel told the German Parliament ahead of a European Union summit in Brussels. Athens faces "a huge effort" to help bring its financial house in order, she warned. The chancellor told the Bundestag it was absolutely clear that no one could expect a solution to Athens' battle to renegotiate its aid plan at either this week's meeting of EU leaders in Brussels or during her talks in Berlin on Monday with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. She reaffirmed Germany's stance that Greece needed to first meet its reform commitments, as set out in its existing rescue programme, before eurozone creditors can consider providing the debt-hit state with more money. The Greeks have to recognize that they have the responsibility to clean up their state finances without the support of someone else's money, she said.
