German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected on Thursday the idea that her government might favour a smaller eurozone, saying her only goal since the beginning of the debt crisis has been to stabilise the bloc in its current form. Reuters reported on Wednesday that some French and German officials were thinking about proceeding with closer economic integration even if that meant doing so with a smaller group of core eurozone countries.
"For months, since the very beginning of the euro debt crisis, Germany has had only one goal, that is to bring about a stabilisation of the euro zone in its current form, to make it more competitive, to consolidate budgets," Merkel told a news conference after talks with Romanian President Traian Basescu.
"And we firmly believe that this common euro area is capable of winning back full credibility, including every single country." Political turmoil and unsustainable borrowing rates in Italy and Greece have raised fears that the currency bloc that was founded in 1999 and enjoyed success in its first decade could break apart, with one or more countries returning to their national currencies.