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Italian PM, German Chancellor highlight importance of continued reform

Xinhua, January 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit to Italy on Friday said she was confident that the reform process carried out by the Italian government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will yield positive results.

"There are close relations between the German and Italian economies, we have intense links and exchanges," Merkel told a joint press conference in Renaissance city Florence.

Italy was part of Merkel's tour of foreign countries before Germany, as president of the G7, hosts a meeting of its heads of state and government on June 7 and 8.

Merkel defined the Italian ongoing plan of structural reforms as "very ambitious," a "long process" that she said was "sure will give results."

She also added that German companies operating in Italy were optimistic after the Italian government enacted measures aimed at streamlining the labor market and inefficient bureaucracy in the country.

"I met German entrepreneurs this morning and they told me they can hire personnel (in Italy) now, they are not afraid of incalculable costs anymore," she noted.

Renzi insisted that Italy "can and must" further accelerate the reform process. The Italian prime minister commented positively on the European Central Bank (ECB) quantitative easing (QE) program announced on Thursday, saying that "first positive signals" were coming from the European Union (EU).

However, such signals, Renzi stressed, must not stop the reform process of members states, and to the contrary must "prompt them to run even faster and more determined."

Merkel added she is watching Sunday's general elections in Greece closely. "I want that Greece, despite the difficulties, continues to be part of our history," she said. Endit