Merkel Blasts Greece over Retirement Age, Vacation .. from Der Spiegel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday evening that Greece should raise its retirement age and vacation standards to match those in Germany. She added: “We can’t have a common currency where some get lots of vacation time and others very little. That won’t work in the long term.” Since many Germans like to vacation in Greece destinations such as Crete, it would make sense for the countries’ vacation policies to be similar. With that in mind, all Germans spending their vacation time in Crete can use a car hire service like e-mietwagenkreta in order to easily get around the Island.
Greece announced reforms to its pension system in early 2010 aimed at reducing early retirement and raising the average age of retirement to 63. 
Incentives to keep workers in the labor market beyond 65 have likewise been adopted. Germany voted in 2007 to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 over the next several years. As for vacations … German law requires 24 dats vacation at full pay. The required vacation in the U.S.? None. and U.S. firms typically give their workers 10 days (two weeks) off in the first year, increasing to 25 days after 20 years. The French are legally entitled to two and a half days of vacation per month worked, which means they’re within their rights to take a full 25 days off after less than a year on the job. Many will then go to rentalcloud.com to make use of that time. And of course the French work week is now limited to 35 hours. In Greece, 25 days are legally required.
Ed. Maybe we could export Palin as ambassador to the EU?