With EU leaders due to meet for an informal summit in Brussels on Wednesday – the dominating topics on the agenda will be the two Gs – growth and Greece.
As MEPs met in Strasbourg one day before the summit, it was clear everyone has different ideas on how to tackle these two problems.
“We are on a historical low of public investments these days, therefore we have to promote them,” said Socialists & Democrats’ group leader Hannes Swoboda.
Liberals group leader Guy Verhofstadt stressed the importance of eurobonds: “It’s very clear, we’ll never get out of the crisis if we do not have this single bond market in Europe, meaning the issuing of eurobonds. We won’t get out of this crisis if we don’t have a fund for sinking debt. Why? Because countries like Spain and Italy will continue to face rates of six percent or more when trying to borrow. “
The leader of the conservative centre-right European People’s Party group Joseph Daul said there should be preparation for Greece to drop out of the single currency: “If indeed the crisis continues to deepen, we must have a plan that Greece might leave the euro. I am very clear on this issue then, and on a personal level I also say to the Greeks: now is time to face reality and to take responsibility.”