Eurozone financial crisis will last five years or more: Merkel

“The financial debt crisis and the economic crisis which comes with it in the euro zone area is still not over. We have to hold our breath for five years or more," Merkel was quoted as saying on Saturday.


"The stabilization and growth pact has repeatedly been violated and accession criteria for certain countries were not fulfilled. Statistics were not compiled honestly and we have to change that. A lot of investors do not believe that we can keep our promises in Europe…We must demonstrate rigor in order to convince the world that it is profitable to invest in Europe,” Merkel told the regional party congress of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at Sternberg.

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland.

The worsening debt crisis has forced the EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.