Eurogroup's Juncker says euro zone threats do not help Greece

Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker took aim at Austria, Germany and the southern German state of Bavaria on Saturday for suggesting that a Greek exit from the euro zone was looming.

"Threats in the Austrian, German or Bavarian language that Greece will soon leave the euro zone do not do Greece any good," he said in a speech in the north-western town of Bielefeld.

"We must show solidarity with Greece and watch our words."

He also reiterated that Greece's main problem was not its debt but its lagging competitiveness and that countries had to tackle their budgets even if it caused "moments of recession".

(Reporting by Matthias Inveradi; writing by Madeline Chambers)