Pressure on Germany to back bonds

PRESSURE mounted on Germany yesterday to agree to a measure that would help rescue the eurozone from the crisis threatening to engulf the entire currency.

Today Commission President Jose Barroso will unveil details of his wide ranging measures to, on the one hand, strengthen surveillance of national budgets while, seen as a quid-pro-quo, three proposals for different types of eurobonds.

Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn was in Berlin yesterday warning that while Germany has been doing very well, its growth drops to just 0.8% next year, recovery in Europe comes to a virtual standstill.