Monti supports eurobonds

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti told the leaders of Germany and France he agrees with Germany's position on eurobonds. "The commission made a lot of proposals yesterday (Wednesday) about budget discipline and we largely agree on that," Monti told reporters in Strasbourg, France, after meeting Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EUobserver reported Friday. "I just think that eurobonds, or stability bonds, whatever you want to call them, produce a leveling of the different competitive situations, which are expressed via interest rates, which gives the wrong signal, as different interest rates are an indication of where work still needs to be done." Germany refused to discuss further European Central Bank intervention to support the eurozone while Sarkozy said Paris and Berlin were working on their own changes to European Union treaties. "We are working on proposals [for changes] which have advanced a great deal," Sarkozy said.