In the current debate on Eurobonds, Guy Verhofstadt, president of the Liberal and Democrat group in the European Parliament, welcomes the recent statement of the German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble regarding a financial policy for Europe and Eurobonds.

VERHOFSTADT comments: "The time for an urgent discussion and analysis of how eurobonds can be used is long overdue.  I believe that the several conditions that Mr Schäuble has attached to the use of eurobonds need to be examined in great detail.  If the German government now shows more openness regarding radical reforms, the process enters a crucial phase. After Philipp Rösler, the minister for Economic Affairs last week, it is now Wolfgang Schäuble, one of Europe's most committed politicians, who seems to be preparing the ground for this crucial debate."

Verhofstadt, who has been since 2009 campaigning for the introduction of Eurobonds, strongly encourages chancellor Angela Merkel to lead this debate with her European colleagues and in the first instance, with Mr Sarkozy.