Macron adds Greece to Europe-focused agenda after summer break

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Greece from Sept. 7-8, a source in the Elysee Palace said, as he seeks to build momentum behind a drive to deepen European integration.

Macron's aides have described a "very European" agenda after he returns from a holiday in southern France. He travels to Austria, Romania and Bulgaria next week before hosting the leaders of Germany, Spain and Italy the week after.

Macron was earlier this summer among European leaders who called for Greece's debt burden to be eased over time to help it emerge from an economic crisis.

He has pressed his regional counterparts to embrace a more ambitious approach to matters such as European defense cooperation and tax harmonization, and said EU treaty change should not be viewed as taboo.

[Reuters]