BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out the toughest words on the idea of eurobonds on Tuesday, saying that Europe would not see a full shared debt liability "as long as I live" , as top European officials proposed debt mutualization to ensure financial stability.
Briefing some lawmakers from the Free Democrats (FDP), her junior coalition partner, Merkel said she would not agree to share total debt liability in the 17-nation eurozone "as long as I live" , some participants told the German magazine Spiegel Online and other western media.
The chancellor' s speech has met with applause from the audience and one FDP official then shouted: "We wish you a long life" , some lawmakers confirmed.
Even Germany, Europe' s strongest economy, has no framework for an overall debt sharing system among the federal government and its 16 states, let alone a much more complicated eurozone, Merkel was quoted as saying by German media.
With Merkel's comments it seems that Germany is determined to snuff out the idea of eurobonds, which is favored by many investors and debt-laden countries like France, Spain and Italy, for at least the next decades.
Germany has consistently opposed issuing jointly guaranteed bonds, maintaining that such a move would tempt heavily indebted countries to spend lavishly like before and erode their willingness to implement structural reforms.
Furthermore, Berlin holds that the eurozone should draw lessons from the current debt crisis and push growth by enhancing competitiveness rather than new debts.
Merkel previously said that eurobonds could not be a quick fix to the crisis, and they could only come out after the process of greater financial and political integration of the eurozone. In other words, it should be a result and a long-term target, rather than a way-out.
It can be expected that the eurobonds would be a hot topic in the upcoming EU summit, as leaders of the bloc are gathering in Brussels and trying to find effective ways out of the two-year-long debt crisis. With major economies like Spain sinking into the mire, the international community is calling for swift and strong actions from Europe, especially from Germany.
Also on Tuesday, four top officials representing EU' s leadership - European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, jointly published a roadmap of promoting European integration over the next decades.
In the seven-page plan, the four leaders proposed more centralized power for the financial industry, budgetary control and coordination of economic policy. They also suggest eurozone issue common debt bonds "in the medium term."
Merkel quickly responded to the plan on Tuesday' s speech, saying that it failed to maintain balance between the required stronger collective action and the issue of joint liability, and it was drawn up with an aim to quicken the debt pooling.
Analyst said the plan, which would be discussed in the summit, seemed overshadowed by Merkel's sharp remarks on it. Although facing isolation in Europe, Germany, the paymaster of any rescue fund in Europe, left little room for weakening its position.
On Wednesday, Merkel is due to give a policy statement in the Bundestag, or the lower house of parliament, and then go to Paris to meet French President Francois Hollande, making the final preparation for the Brussels summit.
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