German finance minister Schäuble offers Greece ultimatum on economic reform

Greece will have to leave the Eurozone if it does not agree to a set of economic reforms, according to Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble, ahead of a key meeting of European ministers on Monday.

Schäuble said in an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday that the troubled state must accept reforms that would be widely unpopular among its population, and ruled out any further debt relief for the country.

"Athens must finally implement the needed reforms," he told the newspaper. "If Greece wants to stay in the euro, there is no way around it – in fact completely regardless of the debt level."

Greece has received more than €300bn of emergency loans in the last six years since from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Debates have raged about how to approach the debt crisis which has enveloped the country, and stifled economic recovery, while the ruling party led by prime minister Alexis Tsipras are coming under severe pressure as their popularity plummets.

Finance ministers of all the Eurozone states will meet on Monday to discuss a raft of issues, with the situation in Greece thought to be near top of the agenda.

A second review by Greek authorities into policy measures to relieve the debt crisis has been held up by contentious labour reforms in the country, an area where the leftist Syriza party have little room to manoeuvre.