Finland praises Greek reforms
Finnish Europe Minister Alexander Stubb on Wednesday applauded Greece's new conservative-led coalition for its reform programme.
"My first impressions are very positive. This is a serious government which has a lot of political pressure coming from both the extreme right and the extreme left and is trying to do the best in a very difficult situation," Alexander Stubb said after talks in Athens on Wednesday.
Stubb's visit included meetings with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras.
With its triple-A credit rating, Finland has been among Greece's strongest critics and has been wary of taking on more liabilities for weaker eurozone states like Greece. Last year Finland negotiated collateral in return for aid to Greece, and is now demanding that similar strings be attached to its portion of aid to Spanish banks.
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