Merkel says exit from euro crisis to take at least five years

German Chancellor Angela Merkel. AP FILE PHOTO/MARKUS SCHREIBER

BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday it will take “five years or more” to overcome the euro debt crisis, local media reported.

“We have to hold our breath for five years or more,” Merkel told the regional party congress of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at Sternberg in east Germany, the DPA news agency reported.

“A lot of investors do not believe that we can keep our promises in Europe,” she said, adding: “We must demonstrate rigour in order to convince the world that it is profitable to invest in Europe.”

Before a crucial European Union summit on November 24-25, Merkel is set to meet with several European leaders.

On Wednesday she will address the European Parliament before later holding talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Then on November 12 she will travel to Portugal, one of the debt-stricken eurozone nations that has received an international bailout.