BRUSSELS (MNI) – Europe’s economic recovery is not yet firmly
established, with some countries performing better than others, European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday.
Some Eurozone countries are recovering much more rapidly than
others, with Germany posting strong growth in the second quarter of this
year while others, like Ireland, Portugal and Greece, are struggling to
balance a weak recovery with high debt levels.
“Economic policy can no longer be seen just as a national issue…
interdependence is there,” Barroso told lawmakers at the European
parliament in Brussels.
European leaders are currently thrashing out a permanent crisis
mechanism to provide aid to countries that manage their debt burdens
from 2013 onwards. They have agreed to make a small change to the EU
legislation, set out in the treaties, but are divided over how private
sector bond holders should be made to share the burden if a Eurozone
country falls in to difficulty.
“We all know that opening up the treaty is like opening Pandora’s
box,” Barroso said, but he added that a small “surgical” treaty change
was needed to make sure that the crisis mechanism was based on solid
foundations.
“We need to be sure that this is an effective tool,” he said.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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