German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble criticised the leader of SPD Sigmar Gaebriel over his recent statement during his visit in Athens that Germany was responsible for the problems Greece was facing. Speaking to German TV station RDF, the German Finance Minister underlined that EU member-states must adobe by the rules set in place. ‘’The problem is the recipes, but the fact that they (regulations) are not implemented. If regulations are not followed, the regulations are not to blame, but the fact that they are not implemented’, he said. Responding to the issue of high youth unemployment in the south of Europe, Schauble said he did not understand why young people would not go to Germany for education. Schauble pointed out the urgent need for a common European defence and arms policy in order to deal with Islamist extremism. He added that any effective and visible solutions in the EU were only possible if each EU country was willing to make concessions. The German minister repeated the need for fiscal discipline and austerity, presenting Germany as a perfect example.