Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was set to host German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks in Rome on Friday that will address the Greek economic crisis, among other issues, dpa reported. The meeting at Monti's Palazzo Chigi office was scheduled to begin at around noon (1100 GMT), and was to be followed by a joint news conference. Merkel was later scheduled to meet Italian President Giorgio Napolitano who has invited her for lunch. Earlier this week Monti said that he and Merkel would have a "deep discussion," on topics including Greece. Monti last month criticized German proposals to put Greece's budget under EU control. Also speaking ahead of the meeting, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert, said the talks would focus "on bilateral, economic and European topics."
