German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Greece has to "pay a price" for running up the largest budget deficit in the European Union.
"Greece, like other countries, has to experience the fact that if you don't follow stability principles for a long time, you have to pay a price," Schaeuble told reporters on Friday before a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers in Iqaluit, Canada.
"The European Commission has demanded tough measures from Greece. The euro remains stable."
The euro has lost 4.5 per cent against the dollar this year amid concern Greece and other European nations may struggle to contain their budget deficits. EU policy makers have no "plan B" to help Greece, Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on January 29.
