Britannia Radio

E U 's Barroso Says Eurobonds 'Sooner Or Later' Will Be Needed

MILAN -(Dow Jones)- Eurobonds, or jointly guaranteed government debt from euro-area members, will "sooner or later" be "indispensable," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Friday.

Several European Union member states have supported eurobonds, most notably Italy. But they are opposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

Before such joint eurobonds can be introduced, however, euro-area members need to achieve a certain level of "convergence in fiscal discipline," Barroso said in an address at Milan'sCatholic University.

-By Elisa Strada of MF-Dow Jones, +39 06 6976 6920; djitaly@dowjo