"The eurozone is going through turbulent times but Ireland is not the problem. Nor is Greece or Portugal. Of course these countries have a problem of credibility affecting their banks, their budget, or their trade balance. But elsewhere in the world there are also similar problems such as Japan (200%), the US or the UK but they have a credible economic governance and an image of unity," said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament during today's debate in Strasbourg.

"Europe is addressing the symptoms rather than the causes of the economic crisis."

"If the President of the Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, expresses concern that the proposals for strengthening the stability and growth pact are not robust enough, we should take the matter seriously. Parliament must support the European Commission in standing up for a bolder Pact with genuine automatic sanctions for those refusing to correct their excessive deficits or curtail their public debt, real economic convergence and supported by a unified European bond market."
 
"Let's turn the current situation into an opportunity and start using article 136 of the Lisbon Treaty." he concluded.

For more information, please contact / Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez contacter:

Corlett Neil - Tel: +32 2 284 20 77 Mob: +32 478 78 22 84
Terzi Federica - Tel: +32 2 283 23 24     Web: http://www.alde.eu