I will always be upfront with the Greek people, so we can solve the country's problems together.

I will always be upfront with the Greek people, so we can solve the country's problems together.

When I was growing up in the United States and Sweden, I never thought about becoming a politician.

I never thought about becoming a politician. But during the military dictatorship, my grandfather was put in prison six times and my father twice. If my family and my country didn't have this history, I might be a professor somewhere today.

The structures in Europe in a globalising economy need to be modernised, need to be more integrated, need to be stronger.

But sovereign debt is a wider question not only in Europe but across the globe. While every country is a unique case, I think it's not an issue of countries acting on their own. We need a more coordinated strategy not only in Europe but around the world.

If you put all the European countries together, we are the biggest economy in the world.