EU economics commissioner Olli Rehn has said that European leaders must anchor their actions in more austerity if the euro zone is to avoid "disintegration" and "depression".
"To be frank, this is the case if we want to avoid a disintegration of the euro zone and if we want it to survive," Rehn said.
Rehn said there are no shortcuts and that budget consolidation, reforms and some public investment hold the keys.
Speaking at a conference Brussels, he played down the merits of eurobonds saying "We will not be able to overcome our problems by focusing only on joint issuance of euro debt."
This pooled approach was pushed heavily by French President Francois Hollande at an EU summit last week.
He said it was a way to deal with issues such as the difference in the cost of borrowing for Spain and Germany.
Germany's Angela Merkel remained resolute in her opposition to pooling liabilities.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained resolute in her opposition to pooling liabilities.
Rehn said that "default or disintegration" would likely cause much greater pain for Europe's citizens than further unpopular austerity and reforms, as it "would lead to terrible depression in Europe and around the world".
He said the solution remained "first, by staying the course of fiscal consolidation, second, undertaking structural reforms, and third, by boosting both public and stimulating private investment in order to provide fuel for the growth engine."
At this "critical" juncture for the euro, Rehn downplayed the merits of eurobonds, or shared sovereign debt.
He warned of "yet another false debate between fiscal consolidation and growth," and said "genuine stability" came from the follow-through of clear government action.
He said a "much-upgraded firewall" was required, just weeks from the entry into force of the €800 billion European Stability Mechanism.
