Guy Verhofstadt, President of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament, speaking at the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said:

“We have yet again seen that a piecemeal approach is not sufficient. Even when the heads of state and governments take decision that go in the right direction - such as last week - it is clearly not enough. 

“Member States do seem to have taken stock of the severity of the situation.  What they must now do is exactly the inverse of what they have been doing over the last year.

“A global and credible solution must be agreed and implemented.  And this contains three elements. 

“The establishment of a federal fiscal and economic union that can manage the euro and its member states in an effective and democratic way. Anything short of a real integration of economic and fiscal process will be in danger of failing.

“Secondly, we need to take a series of immediate measures. This includes removing the straightjacket of unanimity in the functioning of the EFSF and authorising the ECB to provisionally support the activities of the EFSF.  The ECB’s intervention could be ended when the economic and fiscal union is operational.

“Finally, a clear roadmap with distinct implementation schedules must also be adopted, demonstrably showing the way out of the crisis.”

Greece needs a unity government 

Guy Verhofstadt commenting on the Greek crisis: “Action is needed now. The solution for Greece is not the organization of a referendum or early election. The house is on fire and it is a very big fire. Now is not the time for reflective contemplation on who should be the firemen or a debate on the benefits of a high-powered hoses compared to the use of fire-ladders. The fire must be put out now.

“All political forces should take up the fire hose. A government of national unity is long overdue. This is important not only for Greece and its citizens, but also for the very survival of the Eurozone.”

The FULL TEXT and a video of Mr Verhofstadt’s intervention can be found here.