14:06

Back in Greece, former EU commission president Jose Manuel Barroso has admitted that both sides made mistakes in the country’s debt crisis.

Attending the annual Delphi Economic Forum at the weekend, Barroso said Greece had come “very close” to exiting the euro zone at the height of its debt crisis.

“Greece came very close to Grexit,” he told the yearly economic gathering Sunday acknowledging that Athens also suffered because financial instruments had not been created to deal with a crisis of such magnitude.

“There were mistakes from the Greek side but also from the European [side] too. Some countries should have been more generous and shown greater solidarity.”

Barosso added that the reaction of Greeks to the tough terms set out in the bailout programmes (strikes, protests...) had not help inspire confidence in European governments.

