EU: Euro Area Crisis Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

EU: Euro Area Crisis

Lord Harrison Excerpts
Thursday 24th May 2012

(12 years, 6 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Sassoon Portrait Lord Sassoon
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My Lords, within what needs to be tight discipline—tighter than has been exhibited in recent years—over the overall European budget, certainly these ideas of targeting funds better within the existing budget envelope need to be looked at very hard.

Lord Harrison Portrait Lord Harrison
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My Lords, when the noble Lord appears next on the BBC “Today” programme, will he remind listeners that stability bonds are not mini-Eurobonds? What is the Government’s view of stability bonds, which could be part of the growth agenda that we so badly need in the eurozone area and in the EU as a whole? Would we be prepared to join in?

Lord Sassoon Portrait Lord Sassoon
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My Lords, as I said this morning and on other occasions in the past week, we are prepared to look at ideas. Those that are being floated include increasing the lending capacity of the European Investment Bank and issuing project bonds. We will look at these ideas as they develop.