AlHijjah 26, 1432, Nov 22, 2011, SPA -- Chancellor Angela Merkel stood firm Tuesday in her demand for rapid changes in the eurozone treaties, racking up pressure on the other 16 euro nations to accept German plans for more collective discipline over their national budgets, according to dpa. She also disparaged the idea of bonds issued jointly by the 17 eurozone governments, saying, "They are very much the fashion of the moment." But she did not directly mention European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso who has campaigned this week for such bond issues and is to unveil a choice of eurobond schemes Wednesday in Brussels. "There can't be any living on borrowed money," Merkel told the annual conference of Germany's employer's federation (BDA), dismissing calls from EU leaders for more loans and guarantees to beat the euro debt crisis. The chancellor said, "Either we find a way to carry out treaty changes for the euro nations only, or if we are not capable of it, we will set an image in the world that shows we are not willing to defend what we created for our own benefit." Merkel is pushing for either Brussels to be given disciplinary powers or for individual eurozone nations to be able to sue overspending governments at the European Court of Justice. "In an extraordinary situation, one must be ready for extraordinary steps," she said, brushing aside objections she heard last week from three visiting European Union prime ministers that this would take too long to organize. "For me, treaty changes are an immediate part of overcoming the crisis," she said. The chancellor also told the employers that if another recession happened, Germany would re-introduce wage top-ups from public funds for workers whose weekly working hours were reduced. That "short-time" scheme was been widely praised for averting mass layoffs during the last downturn. However the chief of Germany's central bank said he did not expect Europe's biggest economy to slump back into recession. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said: "At this point in time I don't expect a recession." But he described the outlook as highly uncertain, given the euro zone's spiralling debt crisis, and he called for steps to head it off. "We will only avoid a recession if the current crisis of trust does not escalate further", Weidmann told the 1,500 delegates attending the conference. The conference was held as concern deepened that Europe's debt crisis will trigger a slowdown in the region's economy in the coming months.
