The German finance minister has admitted for the first time that Greece will need a third bailout.

Wolfgang Schaeuble made the comments before a campaign audience in northern Germany just five weeks before national elections in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is tipped to win a third term.

Speaking at an election event in northern Germany he said "There will have to be another programme in Greece".

In Athens a Greek finance ministry official told news agency Reuters a new bailout would focus on plugging an expected funding shortfall over the years 2014 to 2016.

But Mr. Schaeuble reiterated the government stance, saying that there will be no debt haircut for Athens.

In the past the finance minister has said that international lenders may have to consider a new aid programme for Greece after the current one expires at the end of 2014 but he has never described this as inevitable.

The comments come following the release of figures that confirmed Greece was still is recession in the second quarter. Though the data showed it had eased slightly the government needs to boost tax revenues in order to meet its current bailout targets.

While figures from last week showed that the Eurozone overall has exited recession with a surprise 0.3% growth in the second quarter of the year. This was led by Germany and France.

The Eurostat agency said the 18-month downturn ended thanks in large part to better-than-expected gains of 0.7% in Germany and 0.5% in France.