ECB says Greece needs to agree strong debt pact

[FRANKFURT] European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called on Wednesday for a "strong agreement" with Greece to ensure it stays in the eurozone and also has a sustainable economy.

"The governing council of the ECB wants Greece to stay in the euro. But there should be a strong agreement, and a strong agreement is one that produces growth, that has social fairness but that is also fiscally sustainable and addresses the remaining sources or factors of financial instability in the financial sector," he told a news conference.

Greece continues to wrangle with its eurozone backers to lighten the reforms it must make in return for further loans.

In the meantime, its banks, and therefore its wider economy, are dependent on emergency central bank funding, sanctioned by the ECB.

REUTERS