Germany's government has voiced its respect for the reforms Greece is implementing to cope with the financial crisis on the eve of Chancellor Angela Merkel's keenly awaited visit to Athens.

"She is going to Greece to express her support for the ambitious reform efforts that the Greeks have set out and are - in part - beginning to implement," Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told a regular news conference on Monday.

"We should not forget - and I think this is sometimes forgotten in Germany - that Greece can point to some successes when it comes to reducing the deficit through very difficult measures."

Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to arrive in Greece on Tuesday morning, her first visit since the crisis broke out in the country three years ago.

She is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and President Carolos Papoulias in Athens on Tuesday.

But she is likely to face angry protests in a country where many feel their already-struggling economy has been dealt further harm by austerity measures demanded in return for a bail-out.

The official line is that Merkel's visit follows an invitation that Samaras made when he visited Berlin in August.

But it comes shortly after Samaras disclosed that Greece will run out of money at the end of November if it doesn't receive the next planned installment of its bailout loans.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!