Germany has rejected the idea of setting up a special fund to bail out euro zone countries, like Greece, that run into budget trouble.

Finance Ministry spokesman Michael Offer said Monday that a European Monetary Fund would not help a case such as Greece's situation.

He said there was "no way around" painful austerity measures being pushed through by the Greek government.

Offer said Greece must reduce its budget deficit by four percentage points this year and bring it down to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2012. That is in line with requirements for participation in the common currency.

Greece's debt trouble has shaken confidence in the 16-country currency union and pushed the euro to a nine-month low against the dollar.