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Angela Merkel has laid a wreath at the former Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, in the first such visit to the site by a German chancellor.
Angela Merkel made a short, emotional speech saying the camp “fills me with deep sadness and shame” and said it was a warning of the dangers of indifference.
The visit is part of Angela Merkel’s election campaign and was followed by a rally in a beer tent nearby.
Political opponents called the combination “tasteless”.
Some 30,000 people died in Dachau before it was liberated by US soldiers on 29 April 1945.
It was the first camp to be built by the Nazis in March 1933.
Angela Merkel has laid a wreath at the former Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, in the first such visit to the site by a German chancellor
Angela Merkel, who toured the remnants of the camp, said it stood for “a horrible and unprecedented chapter of our history”.
“At the same time, this place is a constant warning: how did Germany reach the point of taking away the right of people to live because of their origin, their religion?”
Angela Merkel said the “vast majority of Germans” had closed their eyes to what was going on, and said her visit was intended “to be a bridge from history to the present and into the future that we want to continue to build”.
Max Mannheimer, the 93-year-old president of the Dachau camp committee, had long lobbied for Angela Merkel to go to the camp, near Munich in southern Germany.
He hailed her decision as “historic” and a “signal of respect for the former detainees”.
But a leader of the opposition Greens party, Renate Kuenast, described Angela Merkel’s programme of the camp visit followed by an election rally as a “tasteless and outrageous combination”.
“If you’re serious about commemoration at such a place of horrors, then you don’t pay such a visit during an election campaign,” she told the daily Leipziger Volkszeitung.
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German proposal to postpone further EU membership talks with Turkey for about four months has been backed by EU foreign ministers.
The EU-Turkey talks had been scheduled to resume this Wednesday.
But Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have criticized Turkey’s crackdown on anti-government protests.
Turkish police arrested at least 20 people in the capital Ankara on Tuesday, suspected of attacking police during the recent unrest in Istanbul.
Turkish media say the suspects are also accused of belonging to a “terror organization”.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle played down tensions with Turkey on Tuesday, saying he had had a “really good, constructive” discussion with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday evening.
Ahmet Davutoglu was upbeat, saying he saw “no obstacle” to reopening Turkey’s talks with the EU eventually.
Turkey began accession negotiations with the EU in 2005, at the same time as Croatia, which will join the 27-nation bloc next week.
Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have criticized Turkey’s crackdown on anti-government protests
But Turkey’s talks have been stalled for three years, and an EU Commission report on Ankara’s progress last October highlighted numerous concerns about democracy and human rights.
Like all would-be member states, Turkey has to satisfy a detailed set of EU requirements, called the acquis. Last year Turkey received 856 million euros ($1.1 billion) in EU aid to help it make the necessary institutional reforms.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel wants Turkey to have a privileged partnership with the EU, rather than full EU membership. She hopes to win re-election in September – before the talks with Turkey resume.
Last week Germany summoned the Turkish ambassador in a row over Turkey’s membership bid.
The two countries had earlier exchanged angry words in connection with the Turkish police action against demonstrators. Turkish police have used water cannon and tear gas against protesters – a crackdown widely seen to have fuelled anger against PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
Initially peaceful protesters had staged a sit-in aimed at stopping a development project in Gezi Park, in the heart of Istanbul.
EU foreign ministers have now agreed to resume accession negotiations with Turkey, but only after a progress report on its EU bid is presented in October, diplomats say.
The next policy area to be negotiated is Chapter 22, dealing with regional policy.
Out of 35 chapters in total only 13 have been opened since Turkey’s negotiations began, and eight have been frozen because of Turkey’s dispute with Cyprus. So far, only one chapter – on science and research – has been closed.
The Republic of Ireland chaired the foreign ministers’ talks in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said “we agreed to open a new chapter in accession negotiations with Turkey” and “the Inter Governmental Conference with Turkey will take place later this year”. The conference is the forum for Turkey’s membership bid.
“While we have been disturbed by the reaction to the recent peaceful protests in Turkey, I believe that the EU accession process is the most effective tool we have in influencing the reform agenda in Turkey. EU-inspired reforms have facilitated the increasing space for peaceful protest and dissenting voices,” Eamon Gilmore said.
“The protests have also shown that Turkey needs further reform. Moving ahead with the EU accession process by opening Chapter 22 will, I believe, allow the EU to continue contributing to shaping the direction of future reform in Turkey.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were confronted by Femen activists in Hanover, Germany.
Femen activists, who strip off to highlight a range of issues, including women’s rights, press freedom and domestic violence were dragged kicking and screaming from the premises by security guards.
As one women tried to push through to Vladimir Putin she was blocked by his aides – her back was painted with words directed against the Russian president.
The members of the women’s rights group Femen, which has staged protests against Russia’s detention of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot around Europe, appeared as Vladimir Putin visited a trade fair in Hanover with Angela Merkel.
Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel were confronted by topless Femen activists in Hanover
They stripped off to the waist and shouted slogans calling Vladimir Putin a “dictator” before being covered up and bundled away by security men.
However, a smiling Vladimir Putin shrugged off the protest and said: “As for the action, I liked it.”
“You should be grateful to the girls, they are helping you make the fair more popular.”
But Angela Merkel was not amused, saying: “Whether one has to resort to such an emergency measure in Germany and can’t say one’s piece some other way, I have my doubts.”
It seems that the Kremlin were not so impressed by the demonstration as Vladimir Putin.
“This is ordinary hooliganism and unfortunately it happens all over the world, in any city. One needs to punish [them],” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Vladimir Putin’s arrival at the trade fair on Sunday also drew protesters, some of whom were dressed in striped prison uniforms.
“Stop political terror,” read one banner.
Angela Merkel told Vladimir Putin in a speech at the fair on Sunday that Russia needed “an active civil society” including freedom for non-governmental organizations, after a wave of controversial state inspections of foreign-funded NGOs in Russia.
The German chancellor had promised to raise what she called “controversial subjects” with the Russian leader, after coming under pressure to voice Berlin’s unease over the crackdown on NGOs, Moscow’s support of the Syrian government and its criticism of the German-orchestrated financial bailout of Cyprus.
Femen was founded in Kiev in 2008 to protest against Ukraine’s booming sex industry. At their first demonstration members appeared clothed carrying banners reading “Ukraine is not a brothel!”.
Femen has since gone from strength to strength with 150,000 members worldwide and branches across Europe and even in highly conservative countries such as Egypt.
Cyprus parliament has approved a “national solidarity fund” to ease the banking crisis, which has hit confidence across the eurozone.
MPs also imposed capital controls to prevent a run on the island’s troubled banks.
These are the first of a series of laws intended to raise the 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) Cyprus needs to qualify for a 10 billion-euro bailout.
MPs are still to decide whether to impose a levy on large bank deposits.
The fund would allow the pooling of state assets for an emergency bond issue, reports the Reuters news agency.
Parliament on Tuesday rejected a levy on all deposits to raise the money.
Before the series of much-delayed votes in an emergency session of parliament, the European Union, Germany and leading bankers all urged MPs to speedily pass the reforms.
Cyprus parliament has approved a “national solidarity fund” to ease the banking crisis
The European Central Bank has given Cyprus until Monday to find a solution, or it says it will stop transferring money to its undercapitalized banks.
The EU has postponed next week’s summit to discuss free trade with Japan, so European leaders can concentrate on trying to solve the Cyprus crisis.
Banks on the island have been closed since Monday and many businesses are only taking payment in cash.
There were protests outside parliament on Friday.
Before the parliamentary session began, government spokesman Christos Stylianides said the authorities were engaged in “hard negotiations with the troika”, referring to the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the AFP news agency reports.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Cyprus not to “exhaust the patience of its eurozone partners”, reports say.
Germany and EU leading bankers have urged the Cypriot parliament to quickly find a way of raising the 5.8 billion euros needed to qualify for an international bailout.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Cyprus not to “exhaust the patience of its eurozone partners”, reports say.
The head of one of Cyprus’ biggest banks urged MPs to accept a levy on bank deposits.
This was rejected on Tuesday, sparking a fresh eurozone confidence crisis.
A much-delayed emergency session of parliament is due to vote on a new package of measures to raise the 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) needed to qualify for the 10 billion-euro bailout.
Averof Neophytou, deputy leader of the governing Democratic Rally party, said political leaders were nearing a compromise and a breakthrough was possible on Friday.
Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said the authorities were engaged in “hard negotiations with the troika”, referring to the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF, the AFP news agency reports.
Banks have been closed since Monday and many businesses are only taking payment in cash.
The details of the latest proposals are not clear and our correspondent says the eurozone will want to examine the figures carefully.
Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris has returned from Moscow, where he failed to garner Russian support for alternative funding methods.
He said a levy “of some sorts” remains “on the table” despite widespread fury among both ordinary savers and large-scale foreign investors, many of them Russian.
One suggestion was to use pension funds to rescue Cyprus’ banking system – an idea condemned by Angela Merkel.
One of Angela Merkel’s allies in parliament, Volker Kauder, said this was “playing with fire”.
He said it couldn’t happen because it would hurt what he described as “the pensioners, the small people”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Cyprus not to exhaust the patience of its eurozone partners
Correspondents say Germany is saying that Cyprus cannot expect any more help from Berlin, or Brussels, than what has already been offered.
The European Central Bank has given Cyprus until Monday to find a solution, or it says it will stop transferring money to the troubled Cypriot banks.
Some help has been forthcoming, with the announcement that Greece’s Piraeus Bank would take over the local units of Cypriot banks. This would safeguard all the deposits of Greek citizens in Cypriot banks.
Earlier, Christos Stylianides urged the country’s MPs to “take the big decisions” to prevent a financial meltdown.
“We must all assume our share of the responsibility,” he said in a televised statement.
Leading Cypriot bankers have urged parliament to accept a levy on bank deposits, as originally proposed under the bailout, but with smaller depositors exempted.
The plan overwhelmingly rejected on Tuesday said small savers would pay a 6.75% levy, while larger investors would pay 9.9%.
Bank of Cyprus chairman Andreas Artemis said: “It should be understood by everyone… especially from the 56 members of parliament… there should not be any further delay in the adoption of the eurogroup proposal to impose a levy on deposits more than 100,000 [euros] to save our banking system.”
If ordinary savers are exempt, then larger investors, many of them Russian, would have to pay an even higher rate, if a levy does remain part of the scheme.
The government fears this would prompt foreign investors to withdraw their money, destroying one of the island’s biggest industries.
With no end in sight to the crisis, businesses in Cyprus have been insisting on payment in cash, rejecting card and cheque transactions.
“We have pressure from our suppliers who want only cash,” Demos Strouthos, manager of a restaurant in central Nicosia, told AFP news agency.
Eurozone partners are saying Cyprus has got to change its banking system, over-reliant on foreign depositors, and the money it needs has to come out of that system, one way or another.
Earlier, talks in Moscow on possible new financial aid from Russia, a key investor in Cyprus, have failed.
Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, speaking after talks with his Michael Sarris, said Russian investors were not interested in Cyprus’ offshore gas reserves.
Russia gave Cyprus an emergency loan of 2.5 billion euros in 2011. Anton Siluanov said that no new Russian loan had been on the table with Michael Sarris because of limits imposed by the EU on Cypriot borrowing.
However, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev later said Moscow had not “closed the door” on possible future assistance.
Cypriot leaders must first reach agreement with their fellow members of the EU, he added.
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A new EU summit is getting under way in Brussels with issues of jobs and growth expected to dominate its agenda.
The eurozone as a whole has been in recession for more than a year and unemployment is now just under 12%.
France and some other countries want more flexibility in the budget targets set by the EU Commission, as austerity has provoked widespread protests.
France and Spain, hit hard by the debt crisis, expect to miss their budget deficit targets this year.
But Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel remains determined to keep Europe focused on budget discipline, to prevent any resurgence of market jitters about eurozone stability.
Cyprus, whose major banks are crippled by debts, wants to secure an international bailout of up to 17 billion euros ($22 billion). There is unlikely to be a deal on that at the Brussels summit, as EU finance ministers are still working on the details.
A eurozone summit will follow the main EU summit late on Thursday. Foreign policy issues, including relations with Russia, will be the focus on Friday.
Proposals to deepen eurozone integration will dominate an EU summit in June. The first “building block” of that will be a banking union, which will give the European Central Bank (ECB) far-reaching supervisory powers.
A new EU summit is getting under way in Brussels with issues of jobs and growth expected to dominate its agenda
There is a big debate in the EU about whether austerity is making the prospects for recovery worse.
The debate has been given new impetus by last month’s Italian election, where an anti-austerity protest movement led by the comedian Beppe Grillo performed very strongly.
This is expected to be the last EU summit for outgoing Italian PM Mario Monti, an unelected technocrat who had firm backing from Brussels but got just 10% in the election.
Some economists argue that in current circumstances austerity can actually make government borrowing rise, partly because of the impact that declining production has on tax revenue and welfare spending.
There is a drive in the EU to pursue tax evaders, including some big corporations who exploit the complexity of commercial law to reduce their tax bill.
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France and Germany are marking the 50th anniversary of Elysee Treaty that helped to reconcile the two former foes.
The German and French leaders have been holding talks in Berlin and there will also be a joint session of the two countries’ parliaments.
The Elysee Treaty was signed by Charles de Gaulle of France and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer on January 22, 1963.
Despite ups and downs in the relationship, Berlin and Paris have been key shapers of the European Union.
Charles De Gaulle described Europe as “a coach and horses, with Germany the horse and France the coachman”, and the co-operation between the two nations has been the foundation stone of the European project.
To celebrate what has been described as a festival of friendship, France and Germany are issuing stamps, coins and other items of memorabilia.
France and Germany are marking the 50th anniversary of Elysee Treaty that helped to reconcile the two former foes
French flags will be flying beside those of Germany in Berlin.
Later on Tuesday, more than 500 French lawmakers will travel to the German capital for the session with the Bundestag.
There will also be a joint cabinet dinner and a concert.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande held talks behind closed doors.
Angela Merkel said in her weekly podcast on Saturday that she felt “a very great closeness” with Germany’s neighbor.
“When we have come together, then mostly a good new solution has come out of it,” Angela Merkel said.
However, the two countries remain at odds on several issues, including how to deal with the eurozone crisis.
President Francois Hollande – who is pushing for fresh spending to bolster growth – believes that the Germans are wrong to place such emphasis on austerity and cutting deficits.
On Francois Hollande’s side there is also still bitterness that Chancellor Angela Merkel backed Nicolas Sarkozy so openly during last year’s French presidential elections, our editor says.
The ongoing crisis in Mali is also likely to test the two countries’ relationship.
While Paris has deployed troops in West African nation to halt the advance of Islamist insurgents, Berlin has been reluctant to be drawn deeply into the conflict.
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Germany’s SPD, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-left opponents, has won a narrow victory in elections in the state of Lower Saxony.
The Social Democrats and the Greens won a single-seat majority in the state legislature, a region of 8 million people in north-western Germany.
The election is seen as a bellwether for national elections in September.
The Lower Saxony defeat has set alarm bells ringing for the chancellor.
Angela Merkel’s CDU coalition has lost a number of state elections as she seeks a third term as Germany’s chancellor.
Sunday night’s knife-edge finish saw the SPD and Greens winning a combined 46.3% of the vote to the centre right’s 45.9%.
Germany’s SPD, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-left opponents, has won a narrow victory in elections in the state of Lower Saxony
David McAllister, the incumbent leader of Lower Saxony’s government and close ally of Chancellor Merkel, had been hoping for re-election.
He was born in Berlin to a German mother and a Scottish father and is seen as a possible successor to Chancellor Merkel as CDU leader.
The Social Democrats (SPD) enjoyed a comfortable lead over the incumbents in the run-up to the poll, but it evaporated as polling day approached.
The SPD leader in Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, said before the result that a victory in the state polls as a sign that his party will be taken seriously in September’s national elections.
Since Angela Merkel’s re-election as chancellor in 2009, the CDU has suffered setbacks in recent state elections, and have lost power to the SPD and Greens in four other states.
There was also concern that the CDU’s coalition partners, the Free Democrats, would not win enough votes to maintain the coalition.
They require 5% of the vote to gain seats in the state legislature – exit polls suggested they had 10%.
Angela Merkel appeared several times on the campaign trail with David McAllister, who has played heavily on his Scottish roots.
Known as “Mac”, he used bagpipes in his election broadcasts. He speaks English with a broad Scottish accent.
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German government has criticized leading conservative politician Alexander Dobrindt for suggesting that Greece will have to leave the eurozone.
Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said “bullying” of Greece must stop.
And in a TV interview Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “Everyone should weigh their words very carefully.”
Earlier, Christian Social Union leader Alexander Dobrindt, an ally of Angela Merkel, said he expected Greece to leave the eurozone in 2013.
He said he saw “no way round” a Greek exit. He also called the European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi “Europe’s currency forger”.
His party, a junior coalition partner of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), is preparing for an election in Bavaria and Germany’s general elections next year.
German government has criticized leading conservative politician Alexander Dobrindt for suggesting that Greece will have to leave the eurozone
Last week Angela Merkel reiterated that she wanted Greece to stay in the eurozone. And on Sunday she told German ARD television that “we are in a very decisive phase in combating the euro debt crisis”.
Greece is under pressure to speed up far-reaching reforms, including privatization and civil service job cuts, in order to continue receiving installments of its 130 billion-euro ($163 billion) international bailout.
It is the second massive bailout agreed for Greece since the 2008 debt crisis shook the global economy and German politicians have made it clear they will not stomach a third.
Guido Westerwelle warned that remarks like Alexander Dobrindt’s could harm Germany’s reputation as the eurozone tackles the debt crisis.
Comments by the head of Germany’s Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, also signaled divisions at the top over the ECB’s handling of the crisis.
In early August Mario Draghi announced plans for the ECB to buy the bonds of countries like Italy and Spain, whose borrowing costs have reached levels widely regarded as unsustainable.
He is expected to give details after a 6 September meeting of the ECB’s governing council.
But Jens Weidmann, one of 17 eurozone central bank chiefs involved in ECB policy, said the plans risked making central bank financing “addictive like a drug” for struggling eurozone governments.
He warned that it was “close to state financing via the printing press” and could be a violation of EU rules preventing government-to-government subsidies.
Traditionally the ECB has been reluctant to undertake large-scale bond-buying because it is seen as inflationary, and the ECB’s priority is to keep inflation under control.
But during the eurozone crisis the ECB has been buying up sovereign debt to help ease the market pressure on struggling, debt-laden eurozone countries.
At the weekend the German and French governments indicated that Greece’s plea for a two-year “breathing space” in meeting its bailout obligations was unacceptable.
Eurozone leaders are waiting for a crucial report on Greece’s finances, due in late September. It will be delivered by the troika supervising Greece’s fulfillment of the bailout conditions – the ECB, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Commission.
Greece’s continued access to the bailout lifeline depends on a favorable report from the troika.
Athens is trying to finalize a package of 11.5 billion euros of spending cuts over the next two years.
French President Francois Hollande has urged Greece to prove it can pass reforms demanded by international creditors, after talks with PM Antonis Samaras.
Greek PM Antonis Samaras has been appealing for more time to introduce the reforms.
But Francois Hollande said no further decision could be taken until European ministers consider a major report on Greece’s finances, due in September.
Donors including the EU insist Greece has to make major spending cuts.
These are needed if Greece is to secure the next tranche of its bailout.
French President Francois Hollande has urged Greece to prove it can pass reforms demanded by international creditors, after talks with PM Antonis Samaras
The Greek government is under pressure to win concessions from Europe to placate the tired nation and lessen the likelihood of a destabilizing period of social unrest.
Antonis Samaras is seeking an extension of up to two years for the necessary reforms, in order to provide Greece with the growth needed to improve its public finances.
In talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week, he was told that the decision would depend on a report from the so-called troika – the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission.
Francois Hollande also said Europe needed to consider the report before it could make any further decisions on Greece.
He said decisions on whether to grant Greece more time should be taken when European finance ministers meet in early October.
“We’ve been facing this question for two and a half years, there’s no time to lose, there are commitments to reaffirm on both sides, decisions to take, and the sooner the better,” he said.
Greece’s continued access to the bailout packages depends on a favorable report from the troika.
Athens is trying to finalize a package of 11.5 billion euros ($14.4 billion) of spending cuts over the next two years.
It is also being asked to put in place economic and structural reforms, including changes to the labor market and a renewed privatization drive.
The measures are needed to qualify for the next 33.5 billion-euro installment of its second 130bn-euro bailout.
Greece needs the funds to make repayments on its debt burden. A default could result in the country leaving the euro.
The polls have opened this morning in Greece for crucial elections which could determine the country’s future in the eurozone.
The main contenders, the right-wing New Democracy and left-wing Syriza, are at odds over whether broadly to stick with the tough EU bailout deal, or reject it and boost social spending.
Opinion polls are banned for two weeks before voting but unofficial polls say the result is too close to call.
EU leaders say if Greece rejects the bailout, it may have to leave the euro.
The poll, the second in six weeks, was called after a vote on 6 May proved inconclusive.
Sunday’s vote is being watched around the world, amid fears that a Greek exit from the euro could spread contagion to other eurozone members and send turmoil throughout the global economy.
Tough austerity measures were attached to the two international bailouts awarded to Greece, an initial package worth 110 billion Euros ($138 billion) in 2010, then a follow-up last year worth 130 billion Euros.
Many Greeks are unhappy with the conditions attached to deals which have been keeping Greece from bankruptcy and all but one of the parties standing for election have promised some degree of renegotiation of the terms.
The polls have opened this morning in Greece for crucial elections which could determine the country's future in the eurozone
In remarks quoted by the Reuters news agency a few hours before polls opened, the head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Angel Gurria suggested that the next Greek government should be given a chance to revisit the bailout conditions.
“If that is the condition presented for Greece to stay [in the eurozone] and then move on, I would say it is probably something that should be attempted,” he was quoted as saying.
But Germany, which has the eurozone’s most powerful economy, insists Greece, like other member states which have received international bailouts, must abide by the austerity conditions.
On the eve of the vote, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “It is extremely important that tomorrow’s Greek elections lead to a result in which those who form the government say, ‘Yes, we want to keep to our commitments.'”
Like Angel Gurria, the German chancellor and several other European leaders will be attending the G20 summit in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos on Monday, which is set to be dominated by the eurozone crisis and the aftermath of the election.
The head of New Democracy, Antonis Samaras, told supporters on Friday that he would lead the country out of the financial crisis, while staying in the eurozone.
He broadly accepts Greece’s international bailout, but says he will renegotiate the terms of the agreement to seek a better deal for Greeks.
“We will exit the crisis; we will not exit the euro. We will not let anyone take us out of Europe,” Antonis Samaras said.
The youthful head of Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, rejects the bailout, but wants Greece to stay in the eurozone, saying a bailout is possible without the kind of drastic cuts demanded of Greece.
“Brussels expect us, we are coming on Monday to negotiate over people’s rights, to cancel the bailout,” he told a final rally on Thursday.
Greeks were celebrating hours before the polls opened, after their national football team qualified for the quarter finals of Euro 2012 with a surprise 1-0 win over Russia.
“We are proud that we gave the people back home some joy and a break from their problems – even for a short while,” striker Georgios Samaras said.
The Kathimerini website noted that Greeks had few reasons to feel national pride at the moment, but sport had provided them with plenty of it. The victory could lead to a quarter-final tie against Germany.
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G8 leaders of the world’s most powerful economies say they want debt-stricken Greece to remain in the eurozone.
In their summit communique, G8 leaders also committed themselves to promoting growth alongside fiscal responsibility.
However, the leaders acknowledged “the right measures are not the same for each of us”.
Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone was high on the agenda, following inconclusive elections there.
The leaders of France, Germany, the US, the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia have been meeting at Camp David in the US state of Maryland.
“We agree on the importance of a strong and cohesive eurozone for global stability and recovery, and we affirm our interest in Greece remaining in the eurozone while respecting its commitments,” the statement said.
The global economic recovery was showing signs of progress, they said, but “significant headwinds persist”.
G8 leaders are divided on whether to continue with austerity or back stimulus measures instead.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel favors austerity, while newly elected French President Francois Hollande wants to pursue policies for greater growth, as does President Barack Obama.
G8 leaders of the world's most powerful economies say they want debt-stricken Greece to remain in the eurozone
There are caveats but the first line of the communique – about promoting growth and jobs – means Presidents Obama and Hollande have won the day.
However, it is not clear that Angela Merkel has got their message and is prepared to act on it, our correspondent adds.
US officials said Angela Merkel would hold a one-on-one meeting with Barack Obama later on Saturday.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said there would be another key meeting in June in Rome, where he would host Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel.
Earlier, UK Prime Minister David Cameron called for deficit reduction.
“There is a growing sense of urgency that action needs to be taken, contingency plans need to be put in place and the strengthening of banks, governments, firewalls and all of those things need to take place very fast,” he told reporters at Camp David.
The likelihood of Greece leaving the euro is growing.
The office of the Greek interim prime minister said on Friday that Angela Merkel had suggested the country hold a referendum on euro membership on election day, but the German chancellor’s cabinet dismissed this as “false”.
Greek voters will again go to the polls on 17 June after earlier elections failed to produce a viable coalition to run the country.
A caretaker government was sworn in this week after elections.
Investors fear any refusal by Athens to impose deep spending cuts agreed under a bailout deal could result in the country quitting the bloc of 17 countries that use the euro.
Two opinion polls published on Saturday showed the anti-bailout left-wing Syriza bloc neck and neck with centre-right New Democracy, both on about 25%.
Larger countries such as Spain or Italy struggling to ease their debt loads might then become vulnerable, potentially triggering wider eurozone upheaval and even a global financial crisis to rival the one of 2008.
The G8 summit has now moved on to other issues, including food security, energy and climate, partnerships in North Africa and the Middle East and the war in Afghanistan.
After the G8 summit ends on Saturday evening, most of the leaders will decamp to Chicago to join a larger group of international officials for a NATO summit on Sunday and Monday, at which Afghanistan is expected to be the main item on the agenda.
Three men arrested in Chicago on suspicion of planning to throw petrol bombs at the NATO summit have been charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of an explosive or incendiary device.
Prosecutor Anita Alvarez said the campaign headquarters of President Barack Obama and the home of mayor Rahm Emanuel were among the targets.
The German economy returns to growth in the first quarter of 2012 with a better-than-expected 0.5% rise in GDP, official figures have shown.
In Q4 2011, the German economy contracted by 0.2%, its first dip since 2009.
Meanwhile, the French economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter, after growth of 0.1% at the end of 2011.
Figures released later on Tuesday are expected to show that the eurozone as a whole has returned to recession.
Data also showed that the Italian economy fell deeper into recession after contracting by 0.8% in the first quarter, slightly worse than analysts had expected. The economy shrank by 0.7% in the previous quarter.
Compared with the same a quarter a year earlier, the German economy grew by 1.7%.
The German economy returns to growth in the first quarter of 2012 with a better-than-expected 0.5 percent rise in GDP
The German statistics agency Destatis said growth was due to a rise in exports and higher domestic consumption.
The return to growth means Germany has avoided a so-called double-dip recession, confounding the predictions of a number of commentators.
In contrast, the French growth figures failed to outperform analysts’ expectations, and the growth figure for the final quarter of last year was revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%.
“There was no good surprise,” said Philippe Waechter at Natixis Asset Management.
“There was weak consumption [and] no investment.”
The French GDP figures come on the day of the inauguration of the new French President Francois Hollande, who has vowed to boost economic growth.
In the run up to the presidential election, in which he ousted Nicolas Sarkozy, he campaigned hard for measures focusing on stimulating the economy alongside the austerity measures that have been adopted across the eurozone.
He will visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel later on Tuesday to make the case for growth.
Francois Hollande believes that growth rather than austerity is the best way for governments to reduce their debts, a view that is being discussed more widely as the eurozone economy continues to struggle and increasing numbers of Europeans voice their anger at austerity.
The eurozone economy contracted by 0.3% in the final quarter of last year, and many analysts believe growth figures published later this morning will show further contraction in the first quarter of this year. If they are correct, the eurozone will be back in recession.
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