European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has dismissed fears of a break-up of the euro zone, describing the single currency as a 'protective shield'.
'The situation is much worse outside the euro zone than within it,' Mr Barroso told the Die Zeit newspaper in an interview due to appear on Thursday, in which he compared the situations in Iceland and Ireland.
The cohesion of the 16-nation euro zone has been tested by growing budget deficits and economic stimulus packages floated by its members in response to the global economic crisis.
Meanwhile, official figures showed that retailers in the euro countries saw weak demand in December although sales were stronger than recent months.
The volume of retail sales in the euro zone was stagnant in December after a slight decline in November and fell 1.6% over one year, the EU's Eurostat agency said. Analysts had expected a fall in December.
