OECD's Padoan says Greece solution up in air: report

MILAN (Reuters) - There is still a long way to go to find a solution to Greece's debt problems, OECD chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday.

"It seems to me that to calm things down we need to find a final solution for Greece, which however seems to be still up in the air," Padoan said in an interview in Italy's Il Messaggero.

At the EU summit on Monday, Greece's unfinished debt restructuring negotiations hampered efforts to convey a more optimistic message that Europe is getting on top of its debt crisis.

Padoan said the fiscal compact accord approved at the EU summit on Monday was well balanced.

"On one side it sends a clear message to the markets on the need for rigor, on the other it acknowledges such action needs to be modulated, linked to how the European economy is going."

He said it was not possible to further speed up fiscal consolidation when countries were faced with recession.

On Monday, 25 out of 27 EU states agreed to sign a fiscal compact in March that will impose quasi-automatic sanctions on countries that breach European Union budget deficit limits and will enshrine balanced budget rules in national law.

(Reporting By Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Kim Coghill)