In his first official visit to the German capital, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pledged to honour his country’s commitments following almost five years of austerity measures.<br /><br /> He said it was important to move away from stereotypes about the two nations, adding that Greece’s economic problems were not the fault of any one country or institution.<br /><br /> Speaking from a press conference in Berlin, both Tsipras and Merkel agreed Athens needs to make big structural reforms in order to fight widespread tax evasion and corruption in Greece.<br /><br /> Such reforms, combined with a solid Greek budget would provide the foundations for a return to growth and a rise in employment, they added.<br /><br /> At an EU summit in March, the Greek government promised to present its creditors with reform plans – relating to the 240-billion-euro Greek bailout plan – soon. Ahead of the Berlin talks, Merkel’s spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, said the chancellor was looking forward to hearing Tsipras’ proposals “from the Gree
