EU-ministers nemen geen nieuwe maatregelen voor stabiliteit euro (en)
After a five-hour meeting of finance ministers in Brussels from states using the euro currency with nothing to show for it, all eyes are sharply focussed on what the markets will make of the eurozone's immobility.
Despite urgent calls from some quarters to hike the ceiling of the euro area's rescue fund and even for the European Union to begin issuing its own bonds as speculation mounts of a break-up of the euro, ministers from 16 states came to no conclusions.
"We don't have any new decision to announce to you," Luxemburgish Prime Minister, finance minister and chair of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker i, told reporters in the European capital.
The same day however, Mr Juncker and the Italian finance minister, Giulio Tremonti, had written in the Financial Times that Europe must begin issuing a common debt offering, or euro-bond.
"Europe must formulate a strong and systemic response to the crisis, to send a clear message to global markets and European citizens of our political commitment to economic and monetary union, and the irreversibility of the euro." they had said.
"This can be achieved by launching E-bonds, or European sovereign bonds, issued by a European Debt Agency (EDA) as successor to the current European Financial Stability Facility," they continued.
"Time is of the essence."
However, it only took hours for German Chancellor Angela Merkel i to shoot down the idea, insisting that the European treaties would not allow such a move.
"Interest rates are an incentive to become better and meet the requirements of the Stability and Growth Pact," she said,
It is thought that the Netherlands is backing Germany in blocking the idea.
The two powers also oppose an increase to the rescue fund.
A wider meeting of the EU's 27 finance ministers will meet on Tuesday.