BRUSSELS (MNI) – This weekend’s meetings between EU leaders and
finance ministers is unlikely to produce a fully-completed plan to
combat the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone because more time may
be needed to complete complex technical issues, an EU official said on
Thursday.
Precise technical details may still need to be worked out by EU
ministries of finance after Sunday’s summit because some technical
information has arrived late and because the issues are so complex, the
official said, without providing further details.
The official’s warning follows one from the European Commission’s
President on Wednesday, who cautioned that any decisions taken at the
leaders’ summit “may need time to implement”.
After raising expectations that this weekend’s series of meetings
in Brussels would result in a final plan to end the crisis of confidence
that has been driving up borrowing costs for an increasing number of
Eurozone governments, EU figures including German chancellor, Angela
Merkel, have begun trying to play down the prospect.
German newspaper Die Welt reported on Thursday that Berlin was no
longer excluding the possibility of delaying Sunday’s summit.
With just days to go, deep divisions remain between Germany and
France over crucial elements of the EU’s crisis strategy, including how
to stretch the Eurozone’s bailout fund’s resources. Paris backs a plan
that would rest upon the European Central Bank while Berlin is in favour
of a scheme that would see the bailout fund offer credit protection to
investors on first losses.
The Eurozone’s two most important countries, which earlier this
month claimed to “agree on everything”, also are divided over how a
restructuring plan for Greek debt involving private investors should be
altered.
–Brussels bureau: +332495228374; email: pkoh@marketnews.com
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