ZURICH: The European Union is “resolutely determined” to ensure the financial stability of the eurozone, the bloc’s President Herman Van Rompuy said Wednesday.
“We are resolutely determined to guarantee the financial stability of the eurozone, the stability of the eurozone is also vital for the world economy,” he told reporters after a meeting with Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey in Zurich.
Among topics raised during the discussions were bilateral relations between Switzerland and the European Union, as well as the eurozone debt crisis.
Calmy-Rey also signalled Switzerland’s support for Brussels in its fight to contain a public debt crisis, saying that it is in Bern’s interest that solutions are found “as the crisis is impacting our country on several counts.”
European stocks closed sharply lower Wednesday over fears that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s decision to resign spells months of political uncertainty for Italy.
In a speech later Wednesday at the University of Zurich, Van Rompuy also stressed that Brussels’ key “aim is to keep the eurozone together with all the 17 participants on board.”
Beyond guaranteeing stability, it also needs to boost growth.
“Our duty is not only to guarantee the financial stability of the euro area. It is also and at the same time to stimulate economic growth. Another major challenge,” he said.
“In the end, only sustained economic growth can bring back confidence, create jobs and absorb debts,” he added.
At the same time, Van Rompuy also called on the EU’s trading partners to do their bit in preventing the world from sliding back into recession.
