European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso today said he still expects modest growth in Europe and does not anticipate a recession in Europe.
Concerns the euro zone debt crisis could spread to Italy and Spain have kept investors jittery, along with concerns that a new aid tranche for Greece could be on hold over fears the country will miss its budget deficit target this year.
“We don’t anticipate a recession for Europe. The latest forecasts by the European Commission show that there would be growth, modest growth, that’s true,” Mr Barroso told reporters during a visit to Australia’s parliament.
He said euro zone policymakers and officials were doing everything possible to ease economic concerns in the bloc, from tackling underlying budget problems to strengthening the governance of the euro-zone and bringing in tighter financial regulation and improving competitiveness.
“I want to be very clear here. The European Union and the euro are strong and resilient,” he said, after talks with Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, whose country is a member of the Group of 20 leading and emerging economies.
Mr Barroso said it was too early to asses whether Greece would meet its commitments to cut the country’s €340 billion debt, but the Greek government had said it planned to comply with its commitments.
“We are in contact with the Greek government and just now they have made some important remarks saying that they will comply with their commitments. This is certainly very important for Greece. It is also important for the EU,” he said.
Irish Times
Denying reports that the Irish Republic may turn to the European Financial Stability Fund for upwards of 80 billion euros (US$110 billion), government officials maintain they have merely been in contact with “international colleagues”.
However, the BBC’s Europe editor Gavin Hewitt said that high-level talks had already begun, involving European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and his economy commissioner Olli Rehn.
“Some EU officials believe it would be better for the Republic to accept a bail-out package now rather than to allow uncertainty to continue,” Gavin Hewitt said.
Source: BBC News
Protesters stormed the office of the Greek Finance Minister to vent their anger at the austerity measures the government is imposing to address the nation’s debt crisis. EU Commission Chief Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference that he is “confident” talks underway to arrive at a bailout package for Greece, will be approved in time to meet the May 19th deadline. The Greek government says it needs emergency funding to cover debt payments due on the 19th of more than $10 billion.
“I’m confident that the talks will be concluded soon, meaning in the next days,” Mr Barroso told a news conference following the clashes.
“We believe that these solutions will be conducive to our actions and will prevent further possible effects of the contagion.”
Source: BBC News
Several key euro zone officials have reached a deal to help Greece in its debt crisis, European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said on Thursday.
The agreement was forged in talks between Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker were also present.
“There is an agreement on the Greek situation. We will communicate now the agreement to the other leaders,” Van Rompuy told reporters.
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