German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her voice on Saturday, April 28 to calls to bolster the European Investment Bank (EIB) and to use EU infrastructure funds more flexibly to help spur economic growth in Europe, AFP reports.

Her comments are part of a new German emphasis on growth-boosting measures to complement painful tax hikes and spending cuts that have triggered a political and popular backlash against austerity across the euro zone.

The change of rhetoric is also a response to the likelihood that Socialist Francois Hollande will win a French presidential runoff on May 6. Hollande has criticized Merkel's emphasis on budget cuts and structural reforms.