The president of the European Commission has dampened speculation that the EU is working towards the creation of a European Monetary Fund to bail out struggling euro zone economies.
Speaking in Strasbourg, Jose Manuel Barroso, also dismissed suggestions that the EU had not properly scrutinised economic data from the Greek government.
Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble had suggested that a European equivalent of the International Monetary Fund should be created.
But Mr Barroso told MEPs today that the idea was presented without details, and that it was a longer term proposal that would require changes to existing EU treaties. He added that the current priority was to work on bolstering economic co-ordination with member states and greater surveillance of euro zone economies.
Earlier the Commission President was asked if the Commission had suspected that the Greek government was publishing incorrect figures to conceal the extent of its borrowing.
Mr Barroso said that the Greek figures were scrutinised precisely because of such doubts, and added that the blame lay with the Greek government for not respecting the terms of the growth and stability pact, which limits the amount of money euro zone governments can borrow.
Earlier, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said a European version of the International Monetary Fund was an interesting idea but not a priority. 'It does not appear to me to be the absolute priority in the short-term', she said The IMF monitors and advises member states on economic policy and can help them out with direct funding if they run into trouble.
Fitch warning to European AAA trio
International ratings agency Fitch has warned that Britain, France and Spain need to outline plans to strengthen their public finances and preserve their top-level AAA ratings.
Brian Coulton, Head of Global Economics at Fitch, issued the stern warning at the group's annual Sovereign Hotspots conference in London.
He said such governments needed to articulate 'more credible and stronger fiscal consolidation plans' during 2010 to underpin confidence in the sustainability of public finances over the medium-term.
Mr Coulton warned that a failure to do so would intensify pressure on their ratings. Britain, France and Spain are all rated 'AAA' with a stable outlook by Fitch.
The global financial crisis forced many governments to launch massive stimulus packages to keep their economies on track but the resulting overspending has damaged their own finances, leading to large deficits. They are now trying to withdraw the stimulus but slow economic growth makes any action very difficult.
In recent months, serious public deficit and debt problems in Greece have sparked concerns the country could default, putting the whole euro zone in jeopardy.
