GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA Merkel has reportedly come under fire from one of her former mentors who has accused her of “ruining” the Europe he had helped create but Helmut Kohl has denied he made the remarks.

The former Chancellor between 1982 and 1998, is reported by Der Spiegel magazine (German) to have told a close friend: “She’s ruining my European dream” and adding that her policies in relation to the single currency were “very dangerous”.

However in a statement issued yesterday, the 81-year-old denied the comments and said that “Whoever…solves mistakes to make the euro Europe’s future has my full support,” the Irish Times reports.

However, members of Merkel’s own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have been critical of their leader and her perceived stance as being euro-sceptic largely because of the way she is seen to be blocking a solution to the debt crisis, The Local reports.

Merkel has today hinted that she will not attend a summit of Eurozone leaders in Brussels later this week unless a deal on a second bailout for Greece is agreed, warning that private bondholders must contribute to a rescue package for the country.

Read: Merkel throws down gauntlet to bondholders over Greek bailout >