On the eve of the European Council meeting in Brussels, the pressure to take a clear decision on Eurobonds is building.

A concerted campaign by European Socialist leaders has put pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is now forced to seriously consider the promotion of Eurobonds as the most sustainable way to insulate individual Member States from speculative attacks.

French Socialist (PS) chair Martine Aubry stressed that; “European socialists are yet again setting the agenda on crisis recovery. On a Financial Transaction Tax, on the Stability Mechanism and now on Eurobonds, we have consistently called for the EU to get ahead of this crisis. Unfortunately each time Conservative leaders have been asleep at the wheel”.

German Social Democratic (SPD) leader, Sigmar Gabriel stated that; ”Conservative leaders have a clear choice – continue stumbling on, or for once, take a courageous decision to deepen the political union. Eurobonds are only an instrument, but they would be a clear commitment to a closer European Union. I ask to set out a concrete timetable and have the resolve to follow through. However my expectations are not great. Both Merkel and Sarkozy seem allergic to any sense of strategic vision”.

The statement calling for Eurobonds, issued in today’s (15 December) Financial Times by German Socialist (SPD) leaders Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Peer Steinbrück, is well timed and well articulated. It follows on from Monday’s joint statement by Party of European Socialists (PES) President, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, and S & D Group leader Martin Schulz. This statement presented a detailed outline of the merits of the Eurobonds idea.

Mr. Rasmussen emphasised that; “We need a clear plan to introduce Eurobonds now, not in 6 months time. European citizens should also be made aware that Conservative indecision runs the risk of delaying or even destroying Europe’s best chance for a strong economic recovery”.

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For further information please contact Brian Synnott on +32 474 98 96 75 (brian.synnott@pes.org)