President Papoulias visits Berlin, calls Greek embassy construction 'a saga'

Referring to a folk song in which a bridge is only completed after a sacrifice is made, Papoulias said the project "should have already finished. Once again, I leave entirely disappointed by our embassy under construction in Berlin."

Papoulias, who is visiting Berlin following an invitation by German President Joachim Gauck, said, "Those responsible for this great, years-long, delay must be found and a very serious effort must be made to complete this very necessary project, to represent Greece in a large capital like Berlin and especially in this beautiful space and building."

The building is being constructed on a Greek government-owned lot which used to house the embassy before World War II. It should have finished by April 2012 and was scheduled to house both embassy and consulate as well as the ambassadorial residence, thus cutting down costs.

On Friday, Papoulias will attend an event held by Gauck to celebrate the 10th anniversary Bellevue scholarships at the Robert Bosch Foundation, which provides young executives with foreign experience through 12-month internships in partner countries. Greece will be joining the collaborating countries in the near future.