Europe's Central Bank wants Greece to drop debt reprofiling ideas and focus on economic reforms to fix its finances, its former vice president Lucas Papademos told Athens, daily Ta Nea reported on Friday.

Papademos, who is currently advising Prime Minister George Papandreou, conveyed the message by ECB President Jean Claude Trichet during a meeting with Papandreou on Thursday, the paper said.

Forget about lengthening maturities, take measures now was the content of the stern message of ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet that former vice-president Lucas Papademos delivered to the Greek government, the paper said citing sources.

The ECB has raised the stakes in its bid to prevent a restructuring of Greek debt by telling governments it would refuse to accept the bonds as collateral in the event of such a move.

The threat, made by ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark at a conference in Athens on Wednesday came after European finance ministers raised the possibility of a soft restructuring via debt maturity extensions earlier this week.

Ta Nea said Papademos told Papandreou that Trichet and other senior ECB policymakers were of the view that Athens must proceed fast with privatisations.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos;)