How the EU Is Tackling Debt

A week ago the leaders of the euro area met in Brussels. We had two aims in mind: to ensure the financing of the Greek programme and improve the sustainability of the Greek debt, and to restore market confidence in sovereign euro debt. We took important decisions for the future of Greece and for the euro area as a whole. Probably for the first time we covered all the sides and angles of the debt crisis in the euro area. However, a number of misunderstandings have arisen over the past few days. Some are due to the complexities involved, some to the requirements of parliaments in certain member states, and some may even stem from positions taken in the markets. As a consequence I think it is useful to clear up a number of issues under discussion.