German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Greece's new austerity package as an "extremely important step" on Friday, after meeting Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Berlin, according to dpa. "It is an enormous exertion," Merkel said of the measures unveiled Wednesday, aimed at slashing Greece's debt by a further 4.8 billion euros (6.5 billion dollars). The chancellor also congratulated the speed with which the measures were passed into law, after the Greek parliament approved them earlier in the day. The leaders agreed that it was crucial to curb speculation, and said they planned to raise this issue with the European Commission and the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies. "We need to put a stop to speculators dealing with states, as nobody can understand that this can be allowed to happen," Merkel said in reference to reports of hedge funds using the derivates market to speculate on the creditworthiness of indebted nations like Greece. Papandreou stressed again that his country only sought political backing from Germany. "Greece has not asked for financial support," the premier said. Friday's meeting formed part of an effort by Greece to secure broad political backing for its steps to cut its debt and deficit levels in order to stave of potential bankruptcy.
