A 'strong message' to Athens is needed, says French Finance Minister

European leaders need to issue a "strong message" from Thursday's summit saying the focus is on giving Athens breathing room by easing the burden of debt repayment rates and deadlines, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said on Wednesday.

Views among European capitals were less divergent than some media were reporting, he added in an interview on France Info radio.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in separate remarks on LCI television that he was "sure we will find an accord", noting that President Nicolas Sarkozy was heading to Berlin to meet German leader Angela Merkel ahead of Thursday's summit.

"This meeting at the highest decision-making level should allow us to take a further essential step to establish the conditions of a new (aid) package for Greece, that will make Greece's debt more bearable," Baroin said in the interview on France Info radio.

"A strong messsage should be made tomorrow," he said. "The goal is to make Greece's debt more bearable."