Merkel, Hollande agree on aim to keep Greece in euro

(BERLIN) - Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Francois Hollande Tuesday stressed a shared desire to keep Greece in the eurozone, with the new French president adding that all options must be kept open in confronting the crisis.

After their first-ever talks, both Merkel and Hollande told a joint press conference they wanted Greece to stay in the eurozone amid fears of an exit after talks in Athens collapsed to form a new coalition and fresh elections are now expected in June.

"We want Greece to stay in the euro," Merkel said adding that the two European powerhouses were prepared "to study the possibility of additional growth measures in Greece" if Athens said they needed them.

Amid clear differences between the two over how to fight the eurozone crisis, the leaders made an effort to stress unity, with Merkel saying there were "points in common" with Hollande on the way to boost growth.

"We are aware of the responsibility that we have as France and Germany for good development in Europe and I think that we will find solutions for individual problems in this spirit," Merkel said.

She added that their differences were less pronounced than the media portrayed.

Hollande, who made Berlin his first visit abroad as head of state just hours after being sworn in, said he was "ready to put everything on the table" at a forthcoming informal summit of EU leaders in Brussels on May 23.

He said this included the topic of eurobonds, which creates friction with Germany.

And he also reiterated his wish to renegotiate the EU fiscal pact, a treaty aimed at instilling greater budgetary discipline in Europe, pushed through by Merkel, who is opposed to any changes to the text.

"I said during the campaign and I repeat again today that as president of the Republic, I wanted to renegotiate what has been established to integrate an element of growth," Hollande said.

However, replying to a question as to whether he would ratify the treaty as it is, he stressed that more work needed to be done before he could answer that question.

Hollande also called for "balanced" and "respectful" relations with Germany, as Europe waits to see if the continent's top two economies can find solutions to a crisis that could yet tear the euro project apart.

Their first face-to-face talks began more than an hour late after lightning hit Hollande's presidential plane en route, forcing it to turn around before he again set off for the German capital in another aircraft.

He finally arrived at Merkel's chancellery in light rain, shaking hands with the German leader and chatting before walking up a red carpet to a podium where the French and German national anthems were played by a military band.

While Merkel has championed austerity through belt-tightening and debt reduction to battle the crisis dogging the 17-nation eurozone, the Socialist Hollande swept to victory on a pledge to refocus EU fiscal efforts on growth.

Since his May 6 routing of Nicolas Sarkozy, both Berlin and Paris have publicly dug in their heels over their respective positions, talking tough on policy ahead of their meeting.

Just hours before his arrival, Hollande reiterated his vow to turn the page on austerity and invest for the future, saying he would propose to France's partners "a new pact that links a necessary reduction in public debt with indispensable economic stimulus".

Hollande has argued that austerity is no longer "the only option", ruffling feathers in Berlin which drove through the EU fiscal pact enshrining tougher budget discipline for the 25 of the 27 EU members who signed up to it.

He vowed during his election campaign to reopen talks on the pact prompting repeated warnings by the German government that the accord, which has already been ratified by some EU states, is not open for renegotiation.