Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel made a joint call on Thursday to end the European Union‘s harsh austerity measures following Britain‘s "wakeup call" decision to leave the bloc, the dpa reported.
The comments came at the start of the German lawmaker‘s two-day visit to Athens.
"The austerity policy needs to be changed. Growth and unemployment must be on the agenda", Tsipras said after a meeting with Gabriel.
The vice chancellor, who also serves as Germany‘s economy and energy minister, echoed Tsipras‘ remarks, saying that Europe needed to overcome the division "between those who are doing well, like Germany, and those who have problems, like Greece and Southern Europe".
The two lawmakers called for more measures to promote the growth in European Union‘s crisis countries.
"It‘s not enough to just say ‘cut back on salaries, pensions and social insurance‘ while we do nothing to ensure the country sees an increase in the growth and employment", Gabriel said.
The vice chancellor said he feared Europe‘s extreme right parties stood to profit unless the bloc learns from the outcome of the Britain‘s referendum on the EU membership.
Ahead of his visit, Gabriel told dpa that Greece and Germany were connected by a lengthy friendship, despite being strained in recent years by the "financial crisis, the economic downturn and the challenges of the migration, which have taken their toll".
Gabriel has repeatedly called for a debt relief on behalf of Greece, which has received billions in bailout funds needed to prevent the cash-strapped country from returning to the brink of bankruptcy.