BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Union is at a critical moment and the
next steps taken will determine the fate of economic and monetary union,
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said on Tuesday.
Recent market turbulence and high debts and deficits in many member
states have tested Europe’s political unity – particularly within the
Eurozone – as some members have balked at the idea of having to prop up
others.
“We are certainly in a critical moment,” Van Rompuy told delegates
at a conference in Brussels. “The next steps will determine the fate of
our economic and monetary union,” he said.
He said a E110 billion aid deal offered to Greece by the Eurozone
and the International Monetary Fund gave the heavily indebted southern
European country “a temporary respite” from the financial markets.
“The EU has now created breathing space for Greece,” Van Rompuy
said, and it “gives the Greeks time to put their house in order.”
“I am confident they will surmount this crisis,” he added.
Van Rompuy said his task force on improving economic governance was
working towards greater coordination. “It is necessary and it will be
done,” he said.
But he acknowledged that fundamental political issues are at stake.
“We are clearly confronted with a tension within the system,” he
said. “This tension has been there since the single currency was
created.”
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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