News / International
Germany remains opposed to eurobonds across the eurozone
22 Nov 2011 at 18:48hrs | Views
Germany on Monday reiterated its opposition to the issuance of so-called "eurobonds" across the eurozone to tackle the ongoing debt crisis.
"The chancellor and the federal government do not share the opinion of many others, that eurobonds are now a sort of universal cure for the crisis," Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a regular news conference.
Germany "sees the danger that such eurobonds could prevent us from attacking the problem at its roots," he said.
Berlin fears it would make the debt-ridden countries less inclined to implement the indispensable harsh measures to reform their finance and budget system.
Merkel is due to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday in Strasbourg, France, to discuss European Commission proposals, Seibert said.
The idea of eurobonds would be on their agenda as one option, which the Commission envisaged could bring down the borrowing costs of those under the most pressure, he hinted.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stressed that only the appropriate levels of integration, convergence and discipline could be the prerequisite to maintaining the "stability bonds" in Europe.
A special European Union (EU) commission would be responsible for the presentation of three options for eurobonds, which would include bonds under full joint liability, those with liability up to a fixed limit and those for which each eurozone nation would hold proportionate liability.
"The chancellor and the federal government do not share the opinion of many others, that eurobonds are now a sort of universal cure for the crisis," Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a regular news conference.
Germany "sees the danger that such eurobonds could prevent us from attacking the problem at its roots," he said.
Berlin fears it would make the debt-ridden countries less inclined to implement the indispensable harsh measures to reform their finance and budget system.
The idea of eurobonds would be on their agenda as one option, which the Commission envisaged could bring down the borrowing costs of those under the most pressure, he hinted.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stressed that only the appropriate levels of integration, convergence and discipline could be the prerequisite to maintaining the "stability bonds" in Europe.
A special European Union (EU) commission would be responsible for the presentation of three options for eurobonds, which would include bonds under full joint liability, those with liability up to a fixed limit and those for which each eurozone nation would hold proportionate liability.
Source - Xinhua
